Horizon charter school is making advancements in their art program and hiring their first high school art teacher – April Barker – for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year.  

Barker was hired in June as the new art teacher on special assignment and visual arts teacher for the high school.  She has worked as a supervising teacher at Horizon for the past five years and was the leader of the art club for the 2023-2024 school year with the  intention of continuing in that role.

“I want to inspire students to find their passion and explore the arts,” Barker said.

Shannon Thompson, a teacher at Horizon, will be starting her first year as a part-time special assignment art teacher for grades TK through 5. Thompson has been a teacher at Horizon for 18 years and is now able to participate in the art department for her 19th year.  

Before this year, Horizon Charter School was not able to hire art teachers and ran its art curriculum through the Edgenuity online learning platform without in-person classes or activities. 

“Prior to this point, we didn’t have a (non-virtual) class,” said Julie Powell, Horizon’s administrator of strategic initiatives, “and students relied solely on instructional funds with vendors.” 

The Proposition 28 ballot initiative that passed in 2022 has allowed Horizon to greatly improve its art department. Prop. 28 allowed many art teachers to find jobs as it required 80% of the funding to be put toward credentialed staff.

“That’s how I actually was able to get the position that I’m starting this year,” Thompson said. 

Horizon is continuing to improve its visual and performing arts program with the addition of new teachers and more activities.

“We’re developing a strategic plan for our whole school, and so we are kind of forming that now that we have a VAPA team,” Barker said. “So we are meeting once a week to continually develop this and introduce it to the cabinet and the board for it to be approved.”

The VAPA Team does have plans for field trips and other opportunities.

“For Broadway Sacramento, we do have some tickets for ‘Mrs. Doubtfire,’ ” Powell said. “I’m hoping to gain some interest in ‘Hamilton.’ ” 

Powell added that art has a huge impact on students’ academic success. It can be applied to many other core classes in schools such as math. 

“In a program we did at Blue Line Arts in Roseville, students were making circular mandalas,” Powell said. “So they were using art principles like patterns, but the art principle of patterns also repeats for math.”

Many Horizon VAPA teachers say art is a very important aspect of what students do in schools and can lead many students to greater opportunities in life.

“Our VAPA team firmly believes that the arts provide a gateway and a window to so many other aspects of life and success and motivation and happiness,” Powell said.

Barker said art shows its importance in other areas of life as well.

“I think arts are extremely important for students (offering) creativity for critical thinking skills,” Barker said. “It allows them to think outside the box, which is really a necessary skill in life.” 

Horizon is looking to expand its VAPA program, and teachers there said it’s important for students to find themselves involved in the arts – and have access to that in schools.

“There’s so many kids that have so many different unique talents,” Thompson said, “and I think it’s really important that we get to start them younger, so that they can start to explore all these different disciplines and find something that fits them and suits them and just lets them shine.” 

Editor’s note: April Barker is the mother of SacSchoolBeat.com staff writer Leilani Barker.