09/17/2026
🎶🎨 National Arts in Education Week | Educator Spotlight
Meet Jessica Cockroft, Ceramics and Chorus Teacher at Hickory High School! Jessica has been teaching for 9 years, including 6 years with HCS.
We asked Jessica a few questions about teaching the arts and watching her students grow:
❤️ What do you love most about teaching the arts?
I love teaching arts classes because I can teach students how to use their voice or their hands to express themselves. Then I get to watch the students progress and grow in their chosen art, sometimes over all four years of high school. It is very gratifying to see that growth in students and later hear of how they continue to use those skills in adulthood.
🌟 What is one arts experience you think every student should have?
I think every student should experience trying something new and being bad at it, then repeating that new skill and practicing until they succeed. This is such an important life lesson that seems obvious, but in reality is quite difficult for our human psyche because struggling is inherently hard, and being bad at something can also make you feel bad. It is important to know that building skills is more about repetition than raw talent.
🎵 What is your proudest moment as an arts educator?
My proudest moment as a teacher was the final chorus concert my first year at HHS. The theme of the concert was “Portraits of Life,” and each song was about a different phase in a person's life, from a baby hearing a lullaby all the way to a song that may be sung at a funeral, all together telling a lovely story about the human experience through songs in many genres and languages. The students performed exceptionally well and had grown so much from the first concert of the year, which was honestly kinda rough, which made the final concert all the more rewarding.
👏 Help us thank Jessica for helping our students find creative ways to express themselves, grow, and persevere!
