ES and MS Arts Specialist
B.A. Literary Theory & Art History – Georgia State University
Ronald E. McNair Scholar
Heather Johnson got her start teaching preschool in 1998, while she was raising her daughter and attending night school. She is a graduate of Georgia State University where she earned her B.A. in Literary Theory & Art History. There she was accepted into the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program where she was stipend to write a Master’s Thesis in the summer of her junior and senior year, presented her research around the county at scholar conferences, and counseled high school students in Trio’s Program Upward Bound. In 2006, she left preschool and began teaching art in primary and intermediate schools. For ten years she ran her own art enrichment company, Curiosita Studios; where she taught after school art classes, worked with home school groups, tutored neurodivergent children in creative development. Heather continues to actively show her work in group shows such as The Mint Gallery, Young Blood Gallery, Beep Beep Gallery, Eyedrum, the West End Performing Arts Center, and The Little Five Halloween Fest. In 2018, she had her first solo show, under her moniker Jinx Remover, through the Decatur Arts Alliance, during Decatur’s Art Week. Heather has taught at The Little Middle School, The Morgan Oliver School, and continues to work as a seasonal art teacher at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. Heather models her pedagogical approach from a vast array of her own experiences and independent research in Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist Curriculum (ABAR); as a member of the National Anti-Racists Art Teachers collective, training as an Atelierista in Reggio Emilia; and Emory’s Social, Emotional, and Ethic’s Learning Curriculum. Her basic premise in developing an effective an Art Education Curriculum is one that fosters and promotes whole brain and critical thinking, organizational skills, improvement in fine and gross motor skills, self-confidence, spiritual and emotional growth, sharpening focus and visual perception through utilization of the senses, expansion of imagination, development of individual insight, and a broader perception of our global community. Heather is so excited to be joining The Friends School of Atlanta and being a role model in the community while facilitating to develop your child’s highest creative potential.