Newtown Public Schools Director of Visual and Performing Arts Michelle Hiscavich reflects on her nearly four decades of experience in education after retiring at the end of this past school year. She worked as an educator for 38 years, with 37 of them being in Newtown.

Hiscavich went to the University of Miami for college, and was enrolled in one of the first music engineering programs in the country. However, she said the program just "wasn't clicking for her."

It wasn't until a summer between semesters, when she taught a summer music program where she grew up in Ridgefield, that Hiscavich found her calling.

"There was a student that just inspired me. He wanted to learn instantly," Hiscavich said. "And so when I was at college, I thought, 'I'm in the wrong. I need to switch to music education.'"

Hiscavich landed a teaching position in Ridgefield once she got her bachelor's and master's degree. However, it was only a one-year term to fill in for a teacher on maternity leave.

So when an orchestra teacher position opened up in Newtown in 1988, Hiscavich seized the opportunity, interviewed with music educator Joe Grasso, and got the job.

The position had her oversee Newtown High School orchestra, Head O'Meadow orchestra, and Sandy Hook orchestra. Hiscavich eventually became the school district's Director of Music in 1995, and later its Director of Visual and Performing Arts in 2017.

One might assume Hiscavitch spent her last few weeks in June taking it easy as she packed away items in her office. However, she said that "wasn't the case at all."

She oversaw the district's last concert for the school year, which was Ice Cream For Jazz on June 7, but the NHS Band and Chamber Choir still had to perform five days later for NHS Class of 2025's commencement ceremony.

At the same time, Hiscavich said they were interviewing for the new band director at Reed Intermediate School since its band director, Phillip Beierle, is moving to the middle school.

She ran interviews with her fellow visual and performing arts team members, calling candidates back for sample lessons to see how they worked with students until June 12. On top of that, Hiscavich had to finish her end of year evaluation reports for all of her departments across the district.

"It's been action-packed," Hiscavich said.

This is not entirely unusually. Between school art shows, concerts, and other productions, Hiscavich said she's "basically on the run" from the end of April into June almost every night, every year.

No matter how busy things got, Hiscavich said she loved what she did. To Hiscavich, the position let her — along with her team of visual and performing arts educators — oversee countless students grow not just as creatives, but as people.

Together, they've gone on concert tours, performed at venues like Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and even traveled to Europe. Whether near or far, she said she's happy to have played a part in their journeys.

"I'm just so proud of them," Hiscavich said.

Through The Years

According to Hiscavich, the landscape of visual and performing arts education has dramatically changed since she started.

There was no technology when Hiscavich started. This changed over time, as classes such as music lab were brought into the curriculum and concepts like electronic music were introduced to students.

She said some of the biggest additions have been the three levels of music technology classes at the high school lead by Chris Lee, where students use software to not only create music, but also soundscapes.

Hiscavich said she's seen students write music for commercials, video games, movie scenes and even ringtones.

"So we have a lot of students who are now getting interested in this idea of 'I can create music. I can use technology and get into video game design, maybe even movies, TV, and commercials,' so that's pretty exciting," Hiscavich explained.

She said NHS's musicals and productions have also evolved over the years.

When she became the Director of Music around 30 years ago, Hiscavich said she sat with the high school principal at the time, Bill Manfredonia, and talked about her vision for the school's future productions. She said he liked her vision, and together they brought the high school's musicals "to a whole new level."

"The ownership that goes back into student's hands through those shows ... it's just a tremendous thing," Hiscavich said.

It's not just musicals and productions — Hiscavich said the marching band program has also taken off. When she started in Newtown, she said the marching band was on the football field for football games and marched in the St Patrick's Day Parade. However, it wasn't a competitive marching band like it is now.

Hiscavich said art programs across the district are "thriving" and that students love to create through drawing, painting, and ceramics. To that end, one of the biggest things Hiscavich said they've added is the district art show. She added it's really taken on a life of its own over the last few years and that it gives students of all ages a place to showcase their creativity.

"The district does a lot, and it's something we should all be very proud of," Hiscavich said.

It Takes A Village

The heart of all these activities, she added, is the visual and performing arts team. Unlike when she started, Hiscavich said the group has opportunities to sit down as an entire K-12 team.

These meetings let them have vertical alignment discussions, where teachers at different education levels can talk with one another.

This is especially important for elementary teachers, Hiscavich said, as they don't have a team supporting them in the building they work in.

"You're one person teaching art and music in your building, so it's easy to feel lonely and wonder, 'Who do I connect with?'" Hiscavich explained.

Since Hiscavich became Director for Visual and Performing Arts in 2017, she said they've been able to have a lot of vertical alignment meetings. These are times where teachers can get together and share projects, strategies, assessments, and where they want to go next.

Hiscavich said this is how events like Band-o-rama, where the district's bands from grades 5-12 gather and perform at the high school gym, come about.

Since elementary art educators teach kids who will eventually be under their peers, Hiscavich said these regular meetings foster a stronger community for both teachers and students.

"We've mapped down through the levels and are starting to get elementary students thinking about how to reflect and accept feedback ... on the language and vocabulary of art and music," Hiscavich said.

Hiscavich clarified she's just one voice on the team and that she's happy to work with such talented and passionate people.

She said she believes the backbone of the program are the educators and the experiences and opportunities they bring to students. Some of these educators are composers, working artists, or have even been involved in Broadway, but all of them, Hiscavich said, practice and live by their art.

"We have a curriculum, but the arts are about creativity and the freedom to create and use your imagination, and the creativity each of these teachers brings to the table is what makes it so special," Hiscavich explained.

With her retirement, Hiscavich said she hopes to travel, play her violin more, relax at home in her garden, and create for herself. She also hopes to stay in touch with her peers in the future.

"We're not friends, we're a family," she said.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.