About Eric Drotch

I love working with students as they explore all means of visual expression. For more than 20 years, I have taught a broad range of visual arts courses - including drawing, painting, sculpture, digital photography, and more - at some of our nation's leading day, boarding, and parochial schools. Currently, I teach woodworking to younger students at an independent school in Rhode Island, where we delight in the making of things by hand. From 2017-2023 I served as a K-12 department chair, where I oversaw a vertically-aligned visual arts curriculum, managed the transition to a new arts building, and helped support both teachers and students in pursuing their creative interests. I have experience managing campus art galleries, redesigning curricula, planning and leading international travel and art experiences for students, effectively managing budgets, and discovering collaborative opportunities on campuses, in local communities, and around the globe.

 

I earned a BA from Skidmore College, a post-baccalaureate certificate in studio art from Brandeis University, and an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. More recently, I completed courses on education redesign and instructional leadership through the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In addition, I have used art as an excuse to travel extensively around the world, and in 2013 I was a Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching grant recipient, which allowed me to conduct research on art education overseas. I also have a background in social sciences and advancement research, and I love "nerding out" with data.