Kaileigh Osarczuk 

I have fifteen combined years of teaching experience, both in secondary and higher education. I have served a secondary student population in a Title I school for over a decade. Throughout my time teaching fine arts, I have been witness to instructing students who face exceptionally challenging circumstances as food insecurity, homelessness, and domestic issues. It has become clear to me how the systemic complexities of generational poverty and race-related disparities adversely affect my students’ academic success.

 

As an art educator, I have had a unique opportunity to embrace these differences and challenges into my teaching practice and curriculum. I consistently seek ways to demonstrate how the arts have always been a way to connect, heal, and strengthen both the individual student, as well as the school community. 

 

Students face daily struggles unrelated to the content that is taught within the classroom.  The art classroom is an exceptional place to embrace and encourage an understanding of where we come from. To be a successful art educator is not to dismiss these real-world issues, but rather to incorporate and address how these challenges can be dealt with using what we learn within the classroom. An art education curriculum can provide the necessary inclusivity and interdisciplinary studies that engages a student's curiosity and understanding. Student engagement can be tied directly to a student's level of achievement and success. Learning about and creating art provides the relevancy and connectivity that not only engages the student, but helps a child understand how they can connect to the world around them.

​

Through my research I have modified contemporary teaching techniques to demonstrate how equitable instruction in underserved communities and intentional teacher-student connection can lead to positive psychosocial gains in the art classroom. My goal has always been for my research to better equip educators in Title I schools to lessen the psychosocial barriers that lead to lower academic performance.