Elementary art

All of our elementary schools offer visual art instruction to our students. Students explore the basic principles and elements of design, experiment with media, and explore famous artists and their works.

Enriched art program

Is your child talented in art? Some schools offer an enriched art program for gifted students:

• Kimberlin Academy

• Hillside Academy

• Walnut Glen Academy

• The Classical Center at Vial

Learn more on our Gifted & Talented page and the Classical magnet page.

Middle school art

Students at the middle school level are offered full-year art courses. Students are introduced in-depth to design, methods and materials. Students work in several mediums including painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics and printmaking.

Earning high school credit in middle school

Eighth-grade students at every GISD middle school campus are able to take Art I and earn high school credit for the course.

Enriched art program

Austin Academy offers an enriched art program for gifted students through the Academy for Excellence magnet program.

High school art

Students begin with two introductory art classes. The first class focuses on 2-dimensional design including perspective, drawing, color theory, painting, and printmaking. The second class continues to 3-dimensional design including ceramics, sculpture, and textiles. Students also explore the historical and cultural contexts in which many artworks are created.

From there, interested students can choose to specialize in:

• ceramics

• drawing

• electronic media

• fibers

• painting

• printmaking

• sculpture

Explore Visual and Performing Arts course descriptions for more information about specific courses.

Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB)

Students who wish to earn college credit have the opportunity to take AP and IB art courses.

 We have the following college-level AP courses available:

• History of Art

• Art Drawing Portfolio

• Art 2D Design Portfolio

• Art 3D Design Portfolio

AP art courses are available at all campuses, while IB art programs are at Garland High School only. Find out more on the High school magnet programs page.

Annual GISD Art Show

Each spring, students from all the district art programs share the skills they have developed with the community by participating in the annual GISD Art Show.