FACULTY

MS. LOLA SCHAEFER

Ms. Schaefer teaches dance at Kenwood Academy High School. She graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Education with additional endorsements in Health Education and Middle Level Education. She has since obtained an M.Ed from University of Illinois in Educational Policy and Leadership with emphasis in equity and is currently a Dance MFA candidate at Montclair State University. Over the course of her dance training she has studied ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, hip-hop, salsa, and bachata. She has had the joy of working with several different choreographers including Sara Semonis, Darby Wilde, Greg Merriman, Tiffany Arnold, Michael Richman, T. Lang, Teena Marie Custer, Monternez Rezell, Alana Urda, and Jessica Taylor. Her dance studies have spanned from Illinois to American Dance Festival, to Washington, D.C., to Minas Gerais, Brasil, and most recently Piobbico, Italy. She currently performs with Matter Dance Company and Desueño Dance Company here in Chicago.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

I believe that all students have a variety of unique skills and experiences that allow them to be successful in and out of the classroom. While there are many ways to develop those skills, I believe the best way to foster this is by asking students to take ownership of their own learning. Students have immense potential to create and discover and my hope is to give students the spark they need to be inspired by implementing pedagogy and lessons that challenge students to move beyond their comfort zone and reach for more stimulating goals. Students will have the opportunity to tailor their projects to their interests and expand on those inquiries within the contexts of the curricula. Students are most likely to grow in an environment where they are heard and their insights are honored and respected, and in this classroom students are given opportunities to collaborate toward more rich learning. Many students have different educational and professional goals and no matter what those may look like for each student, I hope to facilitate a learning environment where students discover ways to apply classwork to their future--whatever that may entail--while exceeding national and state dance education standards along the way. The world is ever-changing and schools and dance training in general should reflect that. I am committed to growing and learning each day so that I can offer consistently challenging content that develops the critical thinking required for students to engage in their communities. As an educator, is my mission to appeal to their learning abilities and provide research-based lessons that challenge them to grow both as students, activists, and artists.