Arts Assessment Teacher Leaders: Phase 2

Look to your arts education leaders

Almost exactly one year ago the teacher leaders were announced for the first phase of the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative. I am excited to write this blog post to let you know who has been selected for the second phase of the initiative. During the summer they will attend a 4-day professional development institute at Maine College of Art in Portland expanding their knowledge in assessment, leadership, and technology. During the 2012-13 school year the teacher leaders will lead regional workshops throughout Maine. Watch for the blog posts with more information on the opportunities provided by the second phase of the initiative! CONGRATULATIONS to the following arts educators for stepping forward and taking on this important work across Maine! Continuing with the initiative for the second phase are almost all of our teacher leaders from last year! Thank you for your continued support, interest, and for taking on the role of leader!

DANCE EDUCATOR

• CARMEL COLLINS, Lake Region High School

MUSIC EDUCATORS

• ANDREA WOLLSTADT – Biddeford Intermediate School, grades 4 and 5, John F. Kennedy School, grade K
• ANDRIA CHASE – Corinth Schools, grades 4-12
• ASHLEY SMITH – Brunswick High School, grades 9-12
• BONNIE ATKINSON – Machias School District, grades K-5
• DREW ALBERT – Maranacook School District, grades 5-12
• JANE KIRTON – Sanford High School, grades 9-12
• JARIKA OLBERG – Waynflete School, grades 4-12
• MARI-JO HEDMAN – Ft. Fairfield Schools, grades K-12
• SARAH WILLIAMS – Glenburn School, grades 2-8

VISUAL ART EDUCATORS

• BARB WEED – Gray-New Gloucester Middle School, grades 6-8
• DANETTE KERRIGAN – Sacoppee Valley Middle School, grades 6-8
• GLORIA HEWETT – Mount View Middle School, grades 6-8
• LEONE DONOVAN – Messalonskee High School, grades 9-12
• PAM OUELLETTE – Lisbon High School, grades 9-12
• SAMANTHA DAVIS – Sumner Memorial High School, grades 9-12
• SUSAN BEAULIER – Ashland Schools, grades K-12
• SUZANNE SOUTHWORTH – Camden Hills Regional High School, grades 9-12

The Maine Arts Assessment Initiative wiki is located at http://maineartsassessment.pbworks.com. The Maine Department of Education has a webpage devoted to the initiative at http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/vpa.

Honoring Teachers!

Thank you for the work you do!

Happy Teachers Appreciation Week (a couple of days late). You are being honored and being thanked for your work each day. I wish it were possible to drive to every school in every district throughout Maine during Teacher Appreciation week and personally thank you for the work you do each day educating students.

I’ve given some thought as to what gift I would give you to honor the work you do with students. I am not able to select only one so here is my list:

1. A GREAT BIG THANK YOU from each student and parent.
2. A day off (with no strings attached) to go and do whatever you please.
3. An attitude change (from the public) that would make teachers heroes.
4. Most importantly, I’d provide the opportunity for you to learn.

Why do I think that giving you the opportunity to learn is so important? I have watched young teachers blossom and establish themselves when they continue their learning while starting out in their first teaching jobs. I have listened to veteran teachers who have gone from being unhappy teaching to filled with renewed energy because of attending a professional development opportunity.

Since I can’t actually give you any of the items on the list I can ask you to give yourself a learning opportunity. The Maine Arts Assessment Initiative (MAAI) has provided many opportunities this year. The Teacher Leaders presented at the statewide conference in October at USM and continue to offer regional workshops all over the state. Six webinars are archived with meeting plans that you can access. And there is one more webinar scheduled for May 23rd with Maine’s Commissioner of Education, Steve Bowen, as the guest. You can learn more about the MAAI by going to the wiki. I invite you to get involved with the MAAI so you can have ongoing learning opportunities that might just make your teaching a little bit better and your life more fun!

I hope that your week is filled with appreciative moments and lots of fun!

A blog post from Education Week called Building Support for Professional Learning provided by Learning Forward you might want to read.

The”Teachers are Heroes” Infographic is posted on the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education blog. The statistics are grabbing and the teacher hero stories are really inspiring!