Mrs. Detraz is one of the art teachers here at Lafayette. She has been a teacher for eight years, working at Lafayette for all of them. She teaches drawing, art, painting, and SCAPA (School of Creative and Performing Arts) classes.
Mrs. Detraz has been making art for as long as she can remember. She told The Times about how she used to make art pieces for her family on Christmas when she was a kid. She also enjoyed the art pieces her brother made. Her brother is 11 years older than her and growing up, she always looked up to him and his art. She wanted to be just like him, which encouraged her to practice drawing more frequently.
When Mrs. Detraz was a senior at Lafayette, she participated in the EBCE (Experience-Based Career Education) program. This program is designed to provide students with real-world work experiences and help them explore all the different career paths. She worked with an art teacher at Glendover Elementary School for half the day and with a graphic designer for the other half. Originally, she considered being a social worker or therapist because she likes to work with people, but after the EBCE program, she realized she wanted to be an art teacher.
Mrs. Detraz loves teaching art at Lafayette. In an interview, Mrs. Detraz told The Times about her favorite part of being an art teacher, “…when someone is passionate about art and I get to help them or find out their passion about it,…introducing it to them and helping them grow their passion. Even though it can be really hard sometimes for kids who don’t know about art at all, just building a relationship with them and convincing them they can do something even if they don’t care to do it.” Some kids don’t feel as confident as others and Mrs. Detraz is good at helping with that.
For students looking to explore the arts, Mrs. Detraz suggests being curious, trying to find inspiration in anything and everything, even things that seem boring and observing everything, even minor details.
Mrs. Detraz has made this school a more loving environment for many Lafayette students. She has encouraged many students to bring out their creativity and inner self. When asked about Mrs. Detraz, Jayce Jones, a junior here at Lafayette, said, “When I’m in her class, she makes drawing seem more like a creative activity rather than just another school assignment.” She has impacted so many students at Lafayette and will continue to make more impacts along the way.
