(Re)Making at Highlands High School

Arts Education Collaborative was pleased to support several local school districts during Remake Learning Days in May of 2016. Five districts held events that highlighted community involvement in the arts and learning: Highlands, Keystone Oaks, South Allegheny, Steel Valley, and Sto-Rox School Districts. AEC staff were particularly impressed with the results from Highlands High School, as they had to reschedule their event due to a work stoppage. Despite such an obstacle, the educator, Teresa Emeloff, managed to realize the event in its entirety. Highlands High School Jewelry and Metals students collaborated with Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC) artists to design and create wearable body adornments to be featured in a public exhibition at PGC. This opportunity took place off-campus with a field trip to Lowe’s and Michaels stores to engage students in selecting and utilizing a mix of traditional and non-traditional materials, experience purchasing materials within a budget, and design and construct pieces with mentorship from PGC artists. Not only was the student work displayed during PGC’s June Hot Jam, but remained on prominent display for a time, including during Unblurred, the popular, monthly art-crawl along Penn Avenue in Bloomfield and Garfield. The student feedback on the event was positive, especially noting that the unique and challenging experience was not one they would have been able to have in a traditional classroom.