ELGIN — A dream is becoming a reality for Elgin School District Superintendent Dianne Greif.

The superintendent has long wanted to revive art in the Elgin School District, and today the pulse of art education in the school district is stronger than it has been in years. The school district, which has not had any art teachers for years, now has two — Amanda Welch, a full-time art teacher at Stella Mayfield Elementary School, and Beth Wasley, a half-time art teacher at Elgin High School. They were added with money from the district’s general fund.

“This is a dream come true for me in that we have been able to add something kids need and kids want,” Greif said.

The educators are helping lead an art renaissance in the school district, where all elementary school students receive art instruction at least once a week and art classes are taught daily at the high school.

At Stella Mayfield, Welch strives to tie in her lessons with what students are being taught at the moment. For example, if students are studying the life cycle of frogs, Welch would teach students about drawing animals, Greif said.

A similar thing is occuring at the high school where students are sometimes doing art projects that tie in with what they are studying in other classes. For example, earlier this school year a student whose literature class was studying “The Hobbit” made a papier-mache of one of the book’s characters.

At Elgin High School, Wasley is now teaching students about pottery and fiber arts, such as weaving with a loom. Other mediums taught this year included introduction to drawing and papier-mache.

So popular are Wasley’s classes that all are now filled to capacity.

“We have no room for more students,” Greif said.

The superintendent laments that budget constraints are preventing the school district from adding more art classes and said it is an issue she wants to find a solution for.

“It is a great problem to have,” Greif added.

She noted that students are flocking to the art classroom at EHS before and after school to work on projects and be with friends who are also interested in art.

“Kids are always looking for a place where they belong,” Greif said.

Greif is delighted to see this because she has long been a fan of art education.

“I believe the fine arts make all kids better students,” she said. “The arts open up different parts of their minds.”

The Elgin School District’s art program received a boost earlier this year when it received a $20,000 grant from the Wildhorse Foundation. Much of the funding has been used to purchase five pottery wheels for the high school. Wasley said the grant has remarkably broadened the art program overall.

“The Wildhorse grant has given us wings to do great stuff,” the EHS art teacher said.

The Elgin School District received the Wildhorse grant in January.

Wasley said the pottery wheels the grant paid for are making it more fun for students to create things out of clay.

“They add a thrill factor,” the art teacher said of the wheels.

Elgin seventh grader grader Carly McLaughlin is among the students who look forward to making items out of clay with the pottery wheels.

“It’s really relaxing,” she said. “It takes your mind off of things.”

EHS sophomore Dakota Anderson said she got off to a slow start but now she thoroughly enjoys using the pottery wheels.

“The first day I was super frustrated, then I found my rhythm,” she said.

Greif said that the Elgin School District’s revived art program is off to a promising start, but she noted that the big test will be next school year, especially at the high school.

She explained that is when it will be known whether students enjoyed their art classes enough to come back to the class and hopefully convinced their friends to join them.