Visual Arts-Jillian Kohler

Jillian Kohler is not only an Art Teacher here at Dallastown but the Head of the Art Department, and she has an interesting story about how she got the job.

“We used to be considered the Fine Arts Department and it was art and music together.  Mr Dougert, the previous band director, when he retired we decided to split, so Mrs. McCleary is the Performing Arts Department Chair and I’m the Visual Arts Department Chair and together we make the fine arts so we actually each are considered 50% Department Chair,” Kohler explained.

Since the Visual Arts department had such a unique start, Kohler’s role as the Department Chairperson was not initially recognized, making it hard for her to pin-point what time she started.

Kohler has had the job, “Officially, as the paid contracted person about three years–since Dougert retired, but prior to that as we were talking about switching schedules and the whole secondary redesign process, our department wanted to make sure that we were getting information first hand . . . so I approached the principal at the time, Dr. Duckworth and I said, ‘would it be possible for me to attend these meetings?’ He and I discussed the possibility of splitting the department and then basically I was a volunteer department chair before Mr. Dougert retired.”

Kohler is grateful for the opportunity to represent her department and bring information directly back to the Art Teachers.

“It’s interesting, as similar as art and music can be as far as performances go, they’re very different in their needs in scheduling or a budget, so we wanted to make sure that we had a foot in the door right away instead of getting information and then passing it back and forth,” Kohler elaborated.

Now that Kohler is an official Department Chair she has additional responsibilities relating to scheduling, budgeting, and communicating ideas.

“I have friends who work in other districts or other states that are also Department Chairs and  every school, and every district, and different states have different expectations of their department, so it’s very interesting to me to understand that and I think . . . there’s a misunderstanding that we have a type of power or authority and we really don’t.  We are truly facilitators and relationship builder’s and communicators,” Kohler said.

Kohler is very excited about the communication aspects of the job, as well as just getting involved.

“Feeling more a part of things and also feeling like what’s important to me, which would be the arts, is being represented and has a clear voice. . . It’s really cool to sit in a room with people who are also feeling the same way about their department and to get everyone’s perspectives,” Kohler exclaimed.