Unified Art Class Builds Friendships at Maple Grove Senior High School
Art is all about what what inspires you. For one art class at Maple Grove Senior High School, friendship seems to be the primary spark for its students.
From the moment you step into the class, taught by 2024 Art Educator of the Year Erin Boe, you can feel that sense of community.
“Raise your hand if you are extremely excited and proud of what you’ve accomplished,” Boe calls out to her large class of 36 students. “Let’s give a round of applause!”
What they accomplished — is three trimesters worth of art created by the students in the unified art class.
It’s displayed in all kinds of works — portraits, patterns, poetry with a display that looks like stained glass. Many of these pieces were collaborative efforts.
“I tell my students every day that they are becoming active agents for social change. And it’s way bigger than just this class,” Boe said.
Unified classes are intentionally inclusive. They’re opt-in classes made up of both special education and general education students together.
Boe created the first curriculum for a unified art course a few years back when she worked at Park Center High School. Now, that curriculum is being used in other classrooms.
“What it does, is it creates a lot of belonging and inclusion in schools,” Boe said. “It also is proven to reduce bullying. It’s really cool.”
The class is popular, and Boe said it has a pretty long waiting list. If the classroom allowed for more than 36, she would take more students immediately.
Students look over their coral reef project, made up of designs from everyone in classes across the three trimesters.
Making Friends
On Thursday, the kids hung up the art they created over those trimesters.
It’s a class where creativity comes to play. It also bridges connections between students in general and special education programs.
Bereket, who takes mostly general education classes, didn’t get to know her classmate Parker until she took unified gym. In unified art, they became even closer friends. Now, they work on projects together.
“This class does make you become friends. I’ll see… all of the other kids around, and I’ll be like ‘Hey!’ when I see them in the hallway. So it’s nice to be able to talk to them when I see them out and about,” Bereket said.
Another powerful connection came to fruition in the second trimester of unified art, between Winston and Trevor.
“The first day, he wanted nothing to do with me,” Trevor said. Eventually, he got Winston to open up — and now they joke around together. Trevor is now going to work as Winston’s personal care assistant for the summer.
Parker gives Bereket a hug in the art gallery. The two became fast friends taking United classes at MGSH.
A Greater Impact
But beyond all these specific friendships, Boe said the impact on all of the Maple Grove Senior High students is profound.
She said kids are more inclusive when they know each other. Those connections are made outside her classroom, in the hallways and at extracurricular activities.
You can see that in what she calls her showstopper: a coral reef project.
It’s made up of different sea creatures, corals and creative designs from the mind of these students. Boe said when the class was brainstorming its “showstopper,” they voted and eliminated ideas until they came to this one.
“The winning idea came from a student who said that ‘just like a coral reef, we need diversity to thrive’,” Boe said. “There’s empathy that’s growing, and just inclusivity and belonging.”
That is a symbol of what the class has created — and Boe couldn’t be more proud.
“It’s a much bigger cultural shift toward belonging and inclusion, rather than just being one class working in a vacuum,” Boe said.
Erin Boe stands in front of her unified art class. Boe teaches other art courses at Maple Grove Senior High as well.
The Final Product
The gallery had its opening show on Thursday, April 24. It is on display in the Maple Grove Senior High School hallways until March 6.
Students help hang up art in the hallway gallery.
Maple Grove Senior High School
