Northwood’s arts education is home to a variety of classes, societies and extracurriculars that fall under one of the four art disciplines offered: visual arts, music, theatre arts and dance. In the past decade, Northwood has received the SupportMusic Merit Award from the NAMM Foundation as part of their National Best Communities for Music Education program, as well as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts School of Excellence Award.
In 1972, Northwood received a National Endowment for the Arts grant that brought a dance program and a theatre program to NHS. The grant, written by Perry Harrison, made Northwood the first public school in North Carolina to offer dance and the first comprehensive arts education program in the state because of the implementation of visual art, theatre, dance, band and vocals for fifty years. Kristen Oakes, the sole and current Northwood dance teacher of 10 years, is the granddaughter of Joe Burke, the man who signed the grant.
“I know this is going to sound crazy but when I was a student here at Northwood I had no idea that my grandfather had signed the grant that brought dance to Northwood,” Oakes said. “My dance teacher who was here when I was a student knew Joe Burke and had worked for him and always told me how grateful she was to him but I never really processed or understood the gravity of that statement. It was not until I was in college and majoring in dance education that I was aware of that fact! But that is just how my grandfather is – he has made many wonderful contributions to this community in education and yet never brings any attention to himself for it. When I began working here as a teacher and it was the 40th anniversary of the grant being signed was when it really hit home to me at how amazing it was. It also made me realize how the decisions we make today can greatly influence and change the lives of those who come after us!”
Oakes, who is a Northwood dance alum herself, received her bachelor’s degree in dance education at East Carolina University. She teaches Dance I, Dance II, Dance III, Dance IV, Dance Ensemble and Dance Composition. The dance program has competed at the North Carolina Scholastic Competition, where it has recently placed third overall in the state and first in student choreography, as well as an invitation to perform at the Scholastic Showcase.
“It felt wonderful to win those awards at the Scholastic Competition,” Oakes said. “I was so incredibly proud of all of my students who worked so hard to create such an amazing piece. And so incredibly fortunate to be able to have their works seen and appreciated by not only the judges but by other schools and students who participated in the competition!”
There is a National Honors Society for Dance Arts at Northwood, and students can get involved by earning credits by participating in classes, performances and various other art-related activities.
Leslie Burwell has been Northwood’s visual arts teacher since 2002, and has served as the head of the department for six years. She received her bachelor’s in psychology with a minor in art at the University of South Carolina, as well as her Arts Education Degree at Meredith College. Burwell is National Board Certified teacher in Art for the young and adult learner, Northwood’s 2015 Teacher of the Year as well as the 2015 and 2016 Chatham County Teacher of the Year. Northwood offers Visual Art I, Visual Art II, Visual Art III, Visual Art IV, Photography, AP Studio Art and will also introduce AP Art History.
“My experiences as an art educator have taught me that creating a visual arts program is a delicate balance of individual freedom and building a community where people feel creative,” Burwell said. “We are all artists, we just need the time and space to develop our artistic voice. I think an art educator has to motivate and encourage students so they are empowered to take risks and find their artistic voice.”
Northwood students can also get involved in the visual arts program outside of the classroom by joining the National Art Honor Society, which students will be invited to join after the successful completion of Art I and teacher recommendations, the Photography Club and Art 4 All.
“Art 4 All is open to anyone at the school, no talent (is) required. We aim to make the art-making experience fun and interactive on our Art 4 All days,” Burwell said. “We also are open to students who want to join Art 4 All [for musical] set painting in the Spring. Our musical this year is Willy Wonka so we will need creatives to help us out.”
Over the years, Northwood visual arts students have had work exhibited in the Scholastic Arts and Writing, winning Gold Key, Silver Keys and Honorable Mentions. The visual arts program has also received a first place award for the NCASA Scholastic Awards and has gotten second, third and fourth places multiple times, and many Northwood students have placed first in their category. Members of the Northwood National Art Honor Society have had their work chosen to be in the North Carolina Museum of Art Teens Inspire Show and had their work displayed at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Students have been awarded congressional awards several times, and have had their art displayed in the U.S Capitol Building and the tunnel leading into the White House. Northwood has also had twenty students attend Governor’s School for Visual Art in the past.
The Northwood visual arts program has also helped prepare students to pursue careers and hobbies in the arts beyond high school. Seven alumni who were taught under Burwell now teach arts education, and others have gone on to work as interior designers, visual artists, gallery owners, jewelry artists, art directors, photographers, product designers, architects, fashion designers and graphic designers.
“Leadership, service, and creativity are all skills that help anyone to become successful,” Burwell said. “Artists do not normally see their place in the world as leaders and visionaries. Northwood the arts educators give their students these experiences in their programs. Success and accolades follow when a clear vision is the central part of a program.”
Kayla Sharp is the theatre teacher and director at Northwood. She is a graduate of Appalachian State University with a degree in Theatre Education K-12 and has been a member of the Northwood staff since 2013. She is also a member of the Appalachian Consortium of Theatre Arts Educators and the North Carolina Theatre Arts Educators. Sharp teaches all the theatre classes at NHS, which are Theatre Arts I, Theatre Arts II, Theatre Arts III Honors, Theatre Arts IV Honors, Technical Theatre III Honors and Technical Theatre Arts IV Honors. She also directs Theatre productions outside of class, such as the Fall Play and the Spring Musical, which do not require, but do recommend, participants to be enrolled in a theatre class.
“I would like them [Northwood students] to know that the best way to get involved in theatre outside of class is to take a theatre class with me,” said Sharp. “We have fun and it helps me get to know students and see what responsibilities I can entrust to them.”
Sharp herself has directed fourteen productions at Northwood, and is currently working on putting together her fifteenth one, Ronald Dahl’s Willy Wonka, which will be the 2022 Spring Musical. The performance of the musical is set to take place on April 7th, April 8th and April 9th. Auditions for Willy Wonka were held on December 3rd, 2021.
Other ways in which Northwood students can get involved in the theatre program are by joining the International Thespian Society, which is the International Honor Society for acting and technical theatre practitioners, and the Drama Club. The Drama Club meets on Mondays from 3:20-4:30 after school is room 829.
Theatre is a year-round program at Northwood, and the general schedule is as follows:
- The Fall Play at the start of the school year.
- After the Fall Play wraps up, the drama club/improv begins.
- During drama and improv, auditions and rehearsals begin for the Spring Musical.
- After the finish of the Spring Musical, the drama club starts to work on their production, which is performed at the end of the school year.
Jason Freeman, Northwood’s band teacher, attended Winston-Salem University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education and was a section leader and member of the Wind Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, Marching Band and Horn Ensemble. He was also selected as a member of the National Collegiate Wind Ensemble in New York City and performed at Carnegie Hall. In 2011, Freeman was selected as first chair at the Historically Black College and the University National Band Director Consortium. In 2014, Freeman graduated from the UNC School of the Arts with a Master of Music degree in Music performance. Freeman has been the director of the Northwood Marching Chargers and the NHS Instrumental music program for the past four years. He teaches Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Marching Band and Jazz Band.
Northwood Arts has always included concert, symphonic, marching and jazz bands, but with the recent influx of students coming from Pollard Middle School, a few things have changed.
“Recently we had to split into two concert bands because the program got so big, sometimes [even] three concert bands,” Freeman said. “[The] marching band recently exploded with size because of Pollard.”
Almost yearly, the Northwood Marching Chargers have earned all-superior status during the season, and have also gotten all excellent and superior ratings at the Concert Performance Assessment.
“I’m actually from Northwood,” Freeman said. “Successful programs are what I know.”
If students are interested in getting involved in band at Northwood, taking advantage of the variety of classes that are offered is a helpful start. Students involved in Northwood music programs have the chance to be nominated for the Tri-M Music Association. Besides participating directly in the band program, students and staff can offer their support and interest in other ways.
“We’re always looking for support,” said Freeman. “Whether it’s monetary or in person [by] coming to watch performances.”
Matt Hanson is the choral music and guitar teacher at Northwood, as well as the faculty advisor of the Tri-M Music Honor Society and the director/arranger for Pitch Please, Northwood’s acapella group. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a Bachelor of Music Performance and Bachelor of Music Education degrees. Hanson is a member of the National Association for Music Education as well as the American Choral Directors Association. As an educator, Hanson teaches Guitar I, Guitar II, Beginning Mixed Chorus, Women’s Ensemble, Chamber Singers Honors Chorus and AP Music Theory.
“There is a place for you to engage, participate and perform here at NHS regardless of your skill, ability or experience levels,” Hanson said. “We perform a wide variety of vocal and instrumental music and offer many opportunities for students to perform and share their music on and off stage.”
The Northwood choral program has had a lot of success over the years. The program has competed, placed and received high ratings at MPA (Music Performance Assessment) and ICHSA (International Championship High School A Capella). The Chamber Singers and Pitch Please have both been selected and have performed at Carnegie Hall (2017, 2019) and the Lincoln for the Performing Arts (2019) in New York City. The choral program has also won first place in the MIX 101.5 Choir Competition in 2014 and 2019, second place in 2015, and third place in 2016. These feats won $13,000 for the choral program.
“The choral program has ebbed and flowed over the years as far as size, interest and participation,” Hanson said. “Before I started teaching at Northwood in 2012, the program had many teachers come in and out every 2-3 years which offered no consistency or ability to grow the program. In 2012 I began an after school a cappella group that continues to thrive to this day and has made a significant name for itself in the community and throughout the southeast. The program now has defined auditioned and non-auditioned ensembles (mentioned above) that students can take part in offered both during and after school.”
