The recently launched Arts Pathway Program at HHS creates more visibility for the arts within Hingham Public Schools and the greater community. The program, started in collaboration with the FIne Arts Director Joann Bellis and Hingham Arts Alliance, supports students at HHS in the fine and performing arts while promoting arts appreciation throughout Hingham. The arts pathway program unites arts students, provides arts exposure, and recognizes significant coursework in the arts on students’ transcripts. Joann Bellis shares, “The program gives students necessary skills to continue their art form in college or even as a career.”
Junior Tala Sanford plays violin with the HHS orchestra and outside of school is a pre-professional ballet dancer. Reflecting on her time as a member of the Arts Pathway Certificate Program she explains, “I have felt like the arts don’t get enough recognition at our school, so having this program and meeting so many other people involved in the arts has been very empowering”. The program gives students a chance to voice their goals and visions for our arts programs at HHS. When asked what has been the most rewarding about starting the Arts Pathway Program, Joann Bellis reveals, “I have seen students take more ownership in being part of the change that they hope to see, and I am excited to see how we can continue to build on our initial foundation to really meet the needs that students express.”
The program, modeled after the HHS Global Citizenship Program, includes the club and the certificate program. Members of the Arts Pathway Club are encouraged to take their passion for the arts to the next level by becoming a member of the Certificate program. Along with the responsibilities of a club member, the certificate program requires rigorous coursework in the arts, mentorship with a faculty member, and the completion of a final capstone project.
Student leaders and teacher advisors organize and promote arts events at HHS along with outings outside of school. The Arts Pathway Program held a college and career arts alumni panel, as well as a visit to Boston to see an open rehearsal of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Isabella Student Gardner Museum. The program successfully connects over 50 HHS students from a variety of art forms and classes. Due to its recent success as a pilot program, it will be officially implemented in the HHS program of studies for the 2024-2025 school year.
