• Creativity StARTS here! 

    Welcome to the Angleton ISD Fine Arts page!  The Fine Arts program offerings in Angleton ISD include music, visual art, band, choir, theatre, and dance.

    Education and engagement in the fine arts are an essential part of the school curriculum and an important component in the educational program of every student in Angleton ISD.

    Fine arts education in Angleton ISD begins in Kindergarten and continues through the twelfth grade. In each elementary school, students K-5 are taught by certified, degreed music  specialists. Beginning in grade 6, at the junior high level, the fine arts courses become elective choices. A junior high student in grades 6-8 may choose to study courses in visual art, band, choir, and/or theater arts. 

    The various fine arts disciplines (art, dance, music, and theatre) are aligned in their curriculum by four standards. These are Perception, Creative Expression and Performance, Historical and Cultural Heritage, and Critical Response and Evaluation. The curriculum for each discipline is aligned by grade level to ensure the proper "layering" or "scaffolding" of knowledge and skill development throughout the student’s development and study in that particular discipline. The teaching of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for fine arts is required by the state of Texas and these are defined and embedded in the Angleton ISD fine arts curriculum objectives.

    Each year, students graduate from Angleton ISD high schools well-prepared to enter university level fine arts courses. Some of these students also earn university scholarships to offset their college expenses. Although many fine arts students do not pursue a fine arts discipline as their college degree major, their fine arts participation has provided each student with a very strong and disciplined preparation for success in whatever his/her field of study.

    "The Basic Academic Subjects are English, the arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and foreign language…Preparation in the arts will be valuable to college entrants whatever their intended field of study. The actual practice of the arts can engage the imagination, foster flexible ways of thinking, develop disciplined effort, and build self-confidence. Appreciation of the arts is integral to the understanding of other cultures sought in the study of history, foreign languages, and social sciences." – Academic Preparation for College, "What students need to know and be able to do" - The College Board.

  • Fine Arts

    1900 N Downing Rd, Angleton TX, 77515 • 979-864-8000

    Richard Thomas

    Director of Fine Arts

    rbthomas@angletonisd.net

    Since 2019, Mr. Richard Thomas has served as the Angleton HS Director of Bands, and as the Director/Coordinator of Fine Arts for Angleton ISD.  Under his leadership, the Angleton Band has restarted it's Jazz program, placed their first All-State Band students in several years (Dillon Fisk and Zen Smith), made the Finals of the Area Marching Contest for the first time in almost 20 years, and started an AP Music Theory program.  Mr. Thomas was also instrumental in bringing back Musical Theatre to Angleton after an absence of 10 years.   Before coming to Angleton, Mr. Thomas served for 4 years as the Coordinator/Director of Fine Arts for the Belton Independent School District where the programs experienced strong UIL and TMEA results, including significant growth in the number of students earning positions in the All-Region organizations. Prior to his time in Belton, Mr. Thomas taught for 18 years as a band director in the Red Oak, Keller, Arlington, Birdville, and Klein ISD's, with his last band directing tenure of 8 years as the Director of Bands for Red Oak High School. He also served as the Minister of Music for the First Baptist Church of Ft. Worth for 3 years where he directed the adult choir, praise team/band, and orchestra. Mr. Thomas earned his Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Baylor University, and his Master's Degree in Educational Administration (with Principal's Certification) from Lamar University. During Mr. Thomas' years as a band director, his high school and middle school bands received consistent Sweepstakes and Superior ratings at all UIL contests, and were also recognized at numerous band festivals as “Best in Class” and “Overall Grand Champion.” He has served as an adjudicator at UIL Concert/Sightreading contests in several Regions around the state of Texas, at a number of music festivals in Texas and Colorado, and at marching contests in Texas, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Connecticut. He has also been a camp clinician/conductor for summer band camps at Baylor University and Sam Houston State University. As a performer, Mr. Thomas performed on Horn with the Texas Wind Symphony, the Wichita Falls Symphony, Symphony North of Houston, and the Houston Symphonic Band, and he also served for two seasons as the Music Director/Conductor of The Northeast Orchestra. Mr. Thomas’s Musical Theatre experience includes serving as the music director/conductor for some 20+ high school and church productions in his career, including Grease, Little Shop of Horrors, Fiddler on the Roof, The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, and Beauty and the Beast, The Drowsy Chaperone, and South Pacific. He also was the lead director for a Red Oak HS production of Little Shop of Horrors, where his lighting design was nominated for a "Best Lighting Design" with the Dallas Summer Musicals High School Musical Theatre Awards. Mr. Thomas is married to Sarah, the elementary music teacher in the Danbury ISD, and he is the proud father of adult twin daughters, Rachel & Rebekah.