Fine arts teacher Mrs. Sara Greene began teaching on the Hill in the fall of 2008. Twelve years later, in the midst of Covid-19, art classes look a little different. 

Greene teaches Ceramics I, Ceramics II and Ceramics III along with an advanced independent art class and AP 3D Studio Art and Design. 

From the beginning of the school year to the second quarter, an increasing number of students had opted for virtual learning. Greene said, “I just had a handful of students online most of the semester.”

Greene made sure that the virtual learners were able to feel present in the class, despite being physically distant. “Students were expected to stay on the Zoom link for the entire class. I have a ManyCam in my classroom that faces the students working at tables. I would check in with my online students periodically or they would call my name and I would come back to my computer to assist them,” Greene said. 

Participation from virtual learners was expected to be the same as if the students were in the classroom. “My online students are expected to make and complete all of the same projects as the in-person students,” Greene said. 

When the school became fully virtual after Nov. 13, Greene was prepared because of her experience with the previous handful of online students. While it may seem difficult to teach and participate in an art class online, Greene was able to come up with a productive and efficient system. Greene said her online students were expected to “come to school to pick up materials and take them home to build (the projects).” Once the art pieces were complete the students would “bring them back to get fired and then come back to collect them again.” Students would then “choose their glazes, glaze them at home and then bring them back for a final firing,” she said. 

Greene found that the only difficulty involved transportation for the online students who could not drive themselves. “Everything else went fine,” Greene said. 

Greene worked around the challenges caused by Covid-19 and included online students as she continued to teach her art classes during most of the semester. As the final weeks of the semester progress virtually, Greene is planning to keep the same productive routine.