As the new art teacher for grades 2-8, Jenna Black is looking forward to the coming year.
No stranger to Darlington, Black has been a substitute teacher at the school for several years, most recently serving as a long-term substitute art teacher for grades pre-K to 2. She is also the mother of Travis ('19), Sanders ('22) and Clara ('27).
Black holds a B.A. in French and a minor in Art History from Vanderbilt University. While there, she studied abroad in Aix-En-Provence, France.
“Traveling around Europe and seeing with my own two eyes so much of the art and architecture I had studied in school just further intensified my passion for art and art history,” said Black.
Her philosophy as a teacher as well as in life is to encourage and understand each unique individual and meet them where they are.
“I recognize the strengths in every student, and focus on positively reinforcing each student to do their best,” said Black. “Encouraging, instilling confidence and recognizing every child’s unique gift is what I love most about teaching. It brings me great joy to see students excited about art, and proud of their accomplishments in visual arts.”
As she transitions to working full time at Darlington, Black brings with her almost 30 years of knowledge and experience in art history as well as visual art. Most recently, she taught art at Rome First Methodist Preschool. She also owns her own a pet portrait business, Cottage Industry, and tutors high school students in French.
“We were so fortunate to have Jenna on campus teaching art and Spanish for a maternity leave last spring. She jumped right in and gave our students a wonderful experience,” said Kim Tunnell, fine arts director. “I am excited to have her join our fine arts department officially and bring her enthusiasm and love for art into the second through eighth grade art classroom this year.”
Black is looking forward to collaborating with students and teachers in all grade levels.
“This is a true gift indeed,” she said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to work in the environment at Darlington, where the administration recognizes the importance of fine arts, teachers truly love what they do, students are excited about learning and parents are supportive of the school and their children.”
Editor’s Note: This article was written by Luke Fincher (‘19), who is serving as an intern in the Communication Office this summer.
