August 23, 2025

Good afternoon Visual Arts students, parents and supporters! 

Welcome to our newest members and sponsors! We are so grateful for your support! All are invited to our first guild meeting of the school year. We'll meet on Tuesday, September 2 following the PTSA. PTSA meets at 6 p.m. in the Commons. We'll meet at 7 p.m. in Mr. Clark's room (170). 

Welcome the newest Visual Arts faculty member, Jessica Raff. 

Jessica Raff is a Dallas-based artist entering her 13th year in education. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from California State University, Fresno, in 2011 and her Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of Dallas in 2015. She has had the opportunity to teach at Tarrant County College and, most recently, taught International Baccalaureate visual arts and film at Woodrow Wilson High School for seven years. Her professional accolades include presentations at state educational conferences and exhibiting her work nationally in juried exhibitions. She is passionate about equity in the arts classroom raising over $75,000 in grants and awards for her students. She is excited to join the arts faculty at Booker T. Washington! 

Senior Headshots
Senior headshots will be taken Monday, August 25 and Tuesday, August 26 from 8:20 a.m. - 1:10 p.m. in the Project Gallery. Students should sign up for a 10-minute session online. You can prepay the $25 fee online or via Venmo (@btwvisualarts) or pay the day of your session with cash, check, credit or digital wallet. Please remember - you may not be able to use your cell phone for payment.

Visual Arts Senior Email
Senior parents, guardians and students - make sure you are subscribed to the guild's senior newsletter so you are receiving info specifically for our Visual Arts seniors.

Want to volunteer but don't know how to get involved?

Whether you want to donate food, help out for a shift (or two), join or lead a committee, or serve as an officer, we welcome you! We've created an online interest form that provides details on all Visual Arts opportunities including responsibilities, time commitments, locations and expectations. Don't worry - filling out the form doesn't commit you to that role. Let us know how you'd like to be involved and we'll reach out. 

Volunteers will serve as greeters, plan hospitality for faculty and guests, and monitor the Hudson Gallery throughout the day. Planning typically begins in September and can be done where and when convenient. Volunteers are needed for one day on campus - date TBA. We have plans of work for previous events to help with planning. Email btwvisualarts@gmail.com for more information or to volunteer.

Ms. Bell's Art & Business class is taking a field trip after school Thursday, September 4. We're looking for a parent to donate and/or deliver a meal to the students before the field trip. There are 10 people on the trip. In the past we've provided a few cheese pizzas, apples/bananas, and a case of water. The food needs to be delivered to Ms. Bell's room on the zero floor by 4:30 on September 4. Email btwvisualarts@gmail.com if you can donate and/or deliver the meal. Thank you!

• Meet the Teacher is Tuesday, August 26 from 5-6:30 p.m. This drop-in event is designed to allow parents and faculty an opportunity to put a face with a name for better communication in the future. You will learn how best to communicate with your students' teacher and how to schedule a one-to-one conference.
• The first PTSA meeting of the school year is at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, September 2 in the Commons. 
• The school has created Pegasus Central, a weekly online publication to help you keep track of campus news and events. This week's edition has info on teacher conferences, photo retakes, the student club fair, and updates to Remind.

Thank you to our sustaining members for their generous support of the Visual Arts Guild and Conservatory. If you're not a guild member, review our membership levels and join today! Let us know if you are interested in a donation or sponsorship. 

DISD has released the approved calendar for the 2025-26 school year. Below are upcoming school and conservatory events. Visual Arts Conservatory and guild events are marked with *. You can find info about schoolwide events in the weekly PTSA newsletter.

Visual Arts Guild at BTWHSPVA

2501 Flora St.

Dallas TX 75201