OHS Visual Arts Department Chair Kay Bratcher points to a student’s art piece at the display in the east campus’s main hallway in March 2020.
Owasso educators interested in taking virtual courses in arts-based teaching strategies have the opportunity to enroll in the Oklahoma Fall Arts Institute.
Every year, teachers from across the state attend the OFAI at Quartz Mountain Resort Arts & Conference Center in Lone Wolf, where they get to broaden their creative horizons and learn skills to take back to their classrooms. While the workshops have moved online this year because of COVID-19, the new virtual platform allows for more courses and availability for attendees.
The online program, OFAI at Home, is now in full swing, with workshop offerings throughout November and December. Teachers, counselors and school administrators can choose from educator-focused classes in arts integration and social emotional learning, or they can seek to further their skills as artists through workshops in photography, visual journaling, printmaking, writing and more.
Last year, Kay Bratcher of Owasso High School, who attends the program every fall, and Amber McMath of Owasso 7th Grade Center participated in the in-person instruction at OFAI.
“The experience is the perfect balance between time for networking with other art educators and creating art, and time to reflect and rejuvenate,” Bratcher said in a previous story. “I have come back with an immediately implementable lesson for my high school students as well as a renewed passion for teaching.”
In 2018, Sarah Van Zandt of Owasso 7GC attended OFAI and said she took a lot away from her experiences. Melissa Beck of Owasso 8th Grade Center also joined Van Zandt in that year’s program.
“OFAI has completely filled me with inspiring, inventive ideas to take back to the classroom,” Van Zandt said in a previous story. “I (couldn’t) wait to share my experience and really let my young artists dive in and experiment with new art processes and materials.
In all, OFAI at Home will offer over 15 workshops through mid-December.
Thanks to funding through the Oklahoma State Department of Education and private donors, all PK-12 public educators will receive full scholarships covering workshop costs. Some courses have limited enrollment, and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
For workshop and registration information, visit oaiquartz.org/workshops.
