Mount Michael has long been praised for its glowing academic performance, but how does it compare to the other schools in Omaha in the arts? And why exactly is a good arts department such an integral part of an intensive college preparatory high school?
In terms of arts courses, Mount Michael has by far the smallest roster of only eight active arts courses, including classes such as Pottery, Choir, and Intro to Theatre, being doubled by the next smallest of 16 at Brownell. Some other private schools like Duchesne and Creighton Prep have well over twenty unique and active classes and even more art related programs.
Many private schools make some form of art class mandatory. Duchesne, for example, requires all freshman to take the Art I class and requires another art class to graduate. These classes teach them unique concepts and, in some cases, open job offerings and opportunities. When asked about why she feels taking art classes is important Ardriana Olvera ‘26 stated, “Classes like photography and interior design really expanded my perspective on the variety of career paths I could have in my future.”
Olvera is not an isolated case, as many other Duchesne students were able to realize their artistic potential through the unique classes offered. Another example of this is Jensen Shomshor ‘25 who takes Rockband, a band class more focused on the instruments used in Rock music, as a drummer, and String Ensemble as a flutist. When asked about why she thinks taking classes like these are important she said, “Although I do not plan to pursue music in a higher-level education setting, the experience and opportunity has contributed to my interests and overall has given me collaborative skills. Our final [Rockband] project consisted of us collaborating with peers, creating an original piece, and having the opportunity to record the song in a music studio. The Duchesne music department offers a ‘World Drumming Class’…unique drumming for beginner-level players and gives girls with no prior music background an opportunity to create music and participate in our concerts. Overall, our music department offers a unique variety of classes, challenging Duchesne girls to think critically and invites the entire school to be involved in music.”
This is not a problem of boys not caring about art classes either, as the only other all boys school in Omaha, Creighton Prep, has one of the most expansive arts programs in the city. One student, Leo Kelly ‘27, stated, “I really like how in-depth the course gets. The teachers provided a lot of experience that I didn’t get from other classes, like displaying my emotions in detail through art.” Kelly also discussed Arts 101 in which they are able to develop art pieces and even garner advice from others on how to become a working professional artist.
Public Schools also have developed more in-depth programs, like the new Gretna East program, that has won state competitions by a landslide every single year of its existence. Students like Caitlin Rischling ‘27 have taken many arts classes, including Drawing Fundamentals, Advanced Drawing Techniques, and Art Fundamentals. Rischling discussed how Rischling stated “Well, they have helped me become a better artist and they have helped me learn more techniques in my art.”
Although Mount Michael’s program is lacking in some ways, it does have its strengths as students like Isaak Meysenburg ‘26, who has taken Art and Pottery classes can attest, “Boy, oh boy, we really get our hands dirty, no messin’ around.” While classes like pottery and choir have recently attracted many students, many programs like theatre have struggled to maintain any sustainable enrollment.
However, it seems as if students at the Mount would just prefer other classes not offered, like Michael Freilich ‘27 who said, “I really wish we had a class like Studio Art, or Digital Design.” And although it may seem as if people simply have a lack of interest in these dwindling courses, consider that other schools still easily maintain a much higher number of arts classes, in some cases with less people, likely due to the initial push of requiring a basic class in the arts.
Making a small change like requiring an Arts class to graduate, improving existing classes, or creating an honors class in the arts program, could be the necessary change to get more students to add a new class to their schedule. program, could be the necessary change to get more students to add a new class to their schedule.
