The new art teacher at La Salle, Mrs. Cha, has brought a new wave of creativity to her classes.

With her entrance, she’s brought big plans to rework the art curriculum here. “I know the art program here has been kind of sporadic,” she said. “The art program at La Salle is going to grow, hopefully, and we are going to have an Art 1 class that’s really awesome.” Art 1 will become an experimentation section, allowing people to try out different arts and see what they like. “You get to try a lot of different mediums,” Mrs. Cha said. “For example, photography, printmaking, drawing, painting, and ceramics.”

This class will become a prerequisite for the advanced classes, 2D and 3D Art. 2D Art will include everything flat, such as painting and drawing, while 3D Art will have mediums such as sculpting and metalworking.

“I want to encourage creativity in my classes,” she said. “I know a lot of people who don’t like drawing but do like photography or other mediums.”

This new system means that students will be able to take whichever classes interest them. Along with this, a new course known as AP Studio Art will be added to the curriculum. Students who are serious about art will have the option to take the class, a college level course where students will create a portfolio and build a website for their art.

“I’ve done this at previous schools, and it’s always just been a few kids at first, but then it grows,” she said.

Mrs. Cha started her education at New York University, eventually transferring to Loyola University New Orleans, where she got a degree in theology. Afterwards, she moved to Austin, Texas, attending St. Edward’s and the University of Texas, where she studied visual arts, studio art, and education. She then became a teacher and went to graduate school back in New York for administration and leadership in visual arts.

Mrs. Cha has been teaching for 17 years, moving to Oregon after seeing the job opportunity open at La Salle.

“Overall, I’m just really excited to be here,” she finished.