The second episode of the Artfully Learning audio series, The Museum in the School, is now available on the Artfully Learning YouTube channel (be sure to subscribe!). You can also listen to it below.
New Rochelle High School provides a state of the art cultural experience for the student body and local community. Recognizing the importance that artistic immersion has on learning, the public high school goes above and beyond providing traditional art education to its diverse student body. The school’s arts program integrates visual art, music, dance, and theater arts into its curricula, and gives students the option to major in the arts through its Performing and Visual Arts Education Program.
New Rochelle High School also has its own museum and cultural center, called The Museum of Arts and Culture. It is the only Regents-chartered museum inside of a school in the state of New York. The museum provides a unique chance for young emerging artists to encounter a spectrum of contemporary art practices by exhibiting the work of established professional artists who also serve as artists-in-residence at the school.
Joining me in conversation is arts educator, curator, and multidisciplinary artist, Alexandra Rutsch Brock. Alexandra has been teaching at New Rochelle High School since 1991, where she started the Visiting Artists Program with fellow educator, Scott Seaboldt. This initiative has brought many renowned artists, critics, and museum professionals to the school who serve as both collaborators and mentors to the students. Check it out below:
Artfully Learning 
How fantastic!
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Thank you!
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What your doing is amazing, I can only imagine how fortunate your students are. It was mostly my art teachers through out school age that encouraged me & helped my talents evolve…then to study art history in college…wow. I never even imagined my very first job at age 14 would be an art teacher, lol.
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Thank you so much for your kind words Tammy! I am grateful that the education field is full of compassionate and creative people. The students deserve it. I am particularly eager to hear about other educators experiences in school while growing up, and how/if those experiences led them to teach. I’d love to know more about your first job. Have you written a post about it?
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I’m almost certain I have, but an epilepsy diagnosis a few years ago has taken a toll on my memory… to put it lightly. This blog ( with the help & encouragement of my grandson) is to help exercise my brain so-to-speak.
However my blog is solely based on lived experiences in various areas.
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New Rochelle HS values the arts being integrated in an authentic way and being connected to careers, lifestyle, and culture. I’ve been so fortunate to see how passionate teaching has translated into a dynamic arts education experience for students. Congratulations to all!
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I completely agree, Deepak! I would love if this model of experiential and empathetic learning was the case for all schools!
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