Lemont High School Adorns Classrooms with Student Art

A alum and current art teacher is making it a goal to have student artwork hung in each of the school’s classrooms.

Ryan Hennebry, a 2000 graduate, has launched the “Art for Education” project, where students in Drawing and Design 1 classes create chalk drawings depicting symbols of education and the appreciation they have for their teachers and school. The best work, chosen through a juried process, gets hung in the room of the creator’s choice.

“We have so many talented students and it is great to share their beautiful artistic creations with the student body, faculty, and visitors of LHS,” Hennebry said.

This semester alone, 10 teachers’ classrooms as well as the District 210 School Board Room and the Trading Post, the school's student-run retail store, have all been filled with framed student artwork.

“The 13 selected works of art hanging on the walls were narrowed down from 76,” Hennebry said. “It was tough to choose 13 as there were several on the cusp of selection.”

The Lemont High School Art Club purchased the frames for the chosen art through a candy bar fundraiser.

In the last two years, students have filled more than 35 rooms in the building with original works of art, Hennebry said. Last semester, all 11 science classrooms were adorned with student artwork, and the year before, student artwork was placed in 10 English classrooms.

When it comes to the subject matter, Hennebry said many students chose to incorporate symbols such as apples and owls to represent education.

“It was extremely interesting to see how students depicted education in a visual way,” he said.

Lemont High School student Rachel Kasperski chose to use books in one of her drawings, and an apple in the other. Her pieces have been selected to be hung in the the District 210 School Board Room.

“I’m really happy,” she said.

The 15-year-old sophomore, who enjoys charcoal drawing, is considering art school in the future.

As for her thoughts on Hennebry, “So far he’s my favorite teacher,” she said.

Lemont High School District 210 Superintendent Sandra Doebert lauds the Art for Education program.

“It is the perfect example of collaboration, art education and the celebration of students' talents,” she said. “Students can take pride when their art work is selected. Teachers can take pride when their classrooms have been chosen. And the entire building becomes a display center for the community to see the talents of our students that are being developed in our art program.”

Doebert said the new pieces of art in the District 210 Board Room provide an opportunity to display Kasperski’s talent while “beautifying the room with lovely drawings related to the theme of education.”

“We are fortunate to have such talented students and to have such dedicated educators that further develop and promote those talents,” she said.

Hennebry said Lemont High School, with its archway and stone architecture and views from some windows of the Des Plaines River Valley and Chicago skyline, is already “aesthetically beautiful.”

“The framed artwork within the rooms enhances the beautiful aesthetics of the school and shows off our students beautiful artistic talents,” he said.