Northview High School students can still choose from ceramics, photography, jewelry, graphic design, art history, band, orchestra and chorus, even as arts programs at schools across the Atlanta metro area face cuts.
That breadth is the focus of a feature published Sept. 22 in The Messenger, Northview's student newsmagazine and winner of a 2023 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown. The piece profiles two art teachers and three student artists at the Johns Creek school who say the programs remain a vital part of campus life.
Art teacher Kaitlyn Harmon defined art in broad terms. "The definition of art is simply creation with intention," Harmon told The Messenger. She added that the intention need not carry deep meaning — that making something for its own sake is enough.
Fellow art teacher Mary Besel told the student reporters that design thinking shows up everywhere. She pointed to a classroom chair as an example, saying people buy it because of how it looks, not just how it feels.
Harmon also argued that art builds critical thinking skills other courses miss, telling The Messenger that art projects require students to develop their own ideas and figure out how to execute them.
The Messenger reported that funding cuts and limited art offerings have affected many schools in the Atlanta metro area, with some labeling arts programs a "luxury." A Northview Messenger opinion piece published in October 2025 estimated that Fulton County Schools faced a potential $8.5 million loss under the Trump administration's proposed federal education cuts for fiscal year 2026. That figure was described as equivalent to 195 first-year teacher salaries. Whether those proposed cuts took effect has not been confirmed.
The Georgia Department of Education posted in February 2026 that Superintendent Richard Woods was expanding fine arts instruction in Fulton County Schools. Details beyond the announcement were not available.
Senior Emily Chow, a band member, told The Messenger the program creates a warm community where students meet lifelong friends. Senior Ethan Liu creates his own music outside school, driven by a childhood love of music. Junior Kelly Zhong has practiced ballet since age five.
Northview is also one of four Fulton County Schools campuses selected for the "Find Your Future at Fulton" out-of-district tuition enrollment program at $11,000 per year for 2026-27, according to a June 2026 board bulletin. The same bulletin noted that an ESPLOST referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot would reauthorize a 1% sales tax for up to $1.306 billion in capital projects. Northview is listed among facilities eligible for upgrades.
