National Federation of State High School Associations Awardee
In 1989 the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSH) established The Outstanding Music Educator Awards. Waterville High School music educator Susan Barre is an awardee!
CONGRATULATIONS SUE!
Many of us know Sue’s tireless work for music education from her school district in Waterville, Maine to the state level and now at the national level. Sue teaches music to students in grades 5-12. I first met Sue when she became a Teacher Leader during Phase 3 of the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative (MAAI). She was a strong leader as MAAI transitioned to the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) and its latest iteration of the Maine Arts Education Partners in Leadership (MAEPL). Sue is a quiet and effective leader who is there when needed and is willing to take on a responsibility and give it her full attention. She can be trusted to not only to complete the task but, always at the highest level. She is a steady voice for all her students and the music education in her district continuously shines under her guidance. I’ve had the honor of working with Sue on many projects and watch her grow as a teacher, leader, and human being. We co-presented in Providence at the NAfME Eastern Division Conference in 2015 and again in 2017 in Atlantic City. This is certainly a well deserved award and I invite you to join me in CONGRATULATING SUE!
NFSH ASSOCIATION NEWS RELEASE
In addition to earning numerous awards and honors, Susan Barre has transformed Maine’s Waterville school music program to one of the state’s most respected, celebrating music and students of all abilities and interests.
After beginning her education career in 1989 and teaching music at various schools in Maine, Barre joined Waterville Public Schools in 2008 as band director for grades 5-12. In 2014, Barre was named department chair for Visual and Performing Arts at Waterville Senior High School and coordinator of music for grades K-12. During her tenure, Waterville students have consistently been recognized with Outstanding Music Awards.
In 2013, Waterville Ensembles were recognized with the “Spirit of DC” award recognizing responsible and respectful behavior. At the 2018 NYC Heritage Music Festival, the Waterville Music Department won the Sweepstakes Award for outstanding music department, and the concert and jazz band earned Gold Awards.
Barre has worked to revise the music curriculum, seeking consistency in music terms and practices, and coordinated the development and implementation of a portfolio for music students. The portfolio has become a blueprint for many other music programs in the state.
Locally, the Waterville music program has become an integral part of the arts community, recognized for its efficient hosting of local festivals each year. Waterville students regularly perform in the community and are active in the arts programs at nearby Colby College.
At the state level, Barre is a [past] president of the Maine Music Educators, which helped implement a paid executive director position for the organization and moved the state’s jazz programs from a competitive format to a festival format, where ensembles perform for a rating and not against each other. Barre is also president of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Eastern Division and served on the executive committee overseeing the planning and implementation of the 2021 Eastern Division Virtual Festival and Conference.
Sue Barre and Argy Nestor co-presenting, NAfME Eastern Division Conference, Atlantic City, 2017. Session: Leading a Way to Proficiency Through the Arts
Curious about the Maine Arts Commission (MAC) program, Maine Arts Education Partners in Leadership (MAEPL)? Wonder why you should consider applying? Listen to arts educator and veteran MAEPL Teacher Leader Charlie Johnson at THIS LINK explain his reasons and the benefits that he’s experienced during his ten years of participation!
DEADLINE TO APPLY IS TOMORROW, JUNE 22, 2021! DON’T DELAY!
Interested in getting together with other Maine Arts Educators and Teaching Artists? Learn more about Maine Arts Education Partners in Leadership (MAEPL) and consider applying to attend the summer institute and become a Teacher Leader or Teaching Artist Leader for the 2021-22 school year.
At the Summer Institute new Teacher Leaders and Teaching Artist Leaders will learn foundational practices in instructional design and leadership skills. Participants will take part in a variety of workshops focused on emerging needs in Arts Education professional development.
Collaboration, networking, and the sharing of resources are an expectation as a member of the MAEPL community. During the Institute participants will develop an individualized growth plan that will be shared with others for feedback and suggestions.
Throughout the school year, participants will continue to share how their individualized growth plan is developed and implemented, and they will have the opportunity to share at a Critical Friends Day, and with a thought partner.
There is a Winter Retreat with participants to review and reflect on the work done, and allow for time to get feedback to plan for the next Summer Institute.
JOIN US! Become a Teacher Leader and Change Lives.
APPLY TODAY — CLICK HEREJune 22, 2021 deadline for new and returning applicants
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW:
SUMMER INSTITUTE
Pilgrim Lodge is a camp run by the United Church of Christ of Maine on Lake Cobbosseecontee in West Gardiner, with cabins with electricity and plumbing, large indoor and outdoor meeting spaces, modern dining facilities, wifi in main buildings and good general cell reception, and recreation options, including swimming, human-powered boating, and trails.
APPLICATION
Administrator Name/contact information
Paragraph of Interest — Selected individuals will be expected to be active leaders in helping to develop and support excellence in teaching and learning in Maine. A full commitment to the Institute timeline is expected as seen in the online information sheet. Please attach a brief overview of your interest and current/past experience (if any) in Leadership. Include your experience collaborating with other arts educators and experiences relevant to the initiative. (Please no more than ~ 500 words, about 1 page.)
Resume/CV — If you are a Teaching Artist, please also include websites or documentation of your teaching work.
Letter of Reference – TEACHERS: This should be from your administrator. TEACHING ARTISTS: This should be from a school or community organization with whom you have worked. Please attach a Letter of Recommendation in which the person includes comments and/or examples reflecting your leadership potential and your ability to work collaboratively. Selected individuals will be responsible for sharing their newly developed expertise and related classroom experiences with other arts educators.
Questions? Contact Maine Arts Commission Director of Education, Martha Piscuskas at Martha.Piscuskas@maine.gov.
Now in its 10th year, The Maine Arts Education Partners in Leadership invites YOU, with other selected Maine visual and performing arts teachers and teaching artists, to be part of a year-long exploration in leading your school communities and the profession in effective teaching and learning in the arts. If you are selected, you will be expected to attend the 2021 Summer Institute, taking place in person July 26-28 at Pilgrim Lodge on Cobbosseecontee Lake in West Gardiner. Themes of this year’s Institute are: Reflection & Renewal ~ Sharing Successes ~ Partnerships ~ Individualized Goal-Setting.
2021-22 Deadline Application – June 22
If you are selected, there is no cost to attend the Institute; however the expectation is that you integrate your learnings in your classroom, your school community, and share with other educators in your region of Maine and beyond. Full participants will receive documentation of contact hours.
MAEPL PURPOSE
The Maine Arts Education Partners in Leadership (MAEPL) is committed to developing and promoting high quality arts education for all. MAEPL operates on the premise of “teachers teaching teachers.” All of our design teams, institutes, and professional development opportunities offer/encourage collaboration.
I know that considering learning opportunities for the summer may be the last thing you wish to do after such a challenging year. Thankfully there are a variety of learning opportunities happening this summer that put your emotional needs at the top of the list. Perhaps one of the resources below will fit your needs. Don’t hesitate – dated information!
Maine Arts Education Partnership in Leadership – MAEPL is offering a summer institute, July 27 and 28, Pilgrim Lodge Retreat Center, Lake Cobbosseecontee, W. Gardiner. DEADLINE to apply: JUNE 15. Join MAEPL for Reflection & Renewal, Partnering, and Individualized Goal Setting. If you are selected you will be part of the 2021 cohort and the expectation is that you integrate your learnings in your classroom, your school community, and share with other educators in your region of Maine and beyond. Full participants will receive documentation of contact hours. There is no cost to participate in this yearlong teacher leadership program, including the 2-day Institute.
Maine Art Education Association – Summer retreat at Pilgrim Lodge, August 2-5, Lake Cobbosseecontee, W. Gardiner. Indoor and outdoor spaces to create art in a beautiful uninterrupted environment. The waterfront includes a large swimming area with kayaks, canoes, prams, and access to an island. Trails to get away from it all and a large woodland labyrinth to walk when you need to do some deep thinking. All meals and lodging, use of facility for $220. REGISTRATION OPENED YESTERDAY! You must be a member to attend.
New England Institute for Teacher Education – Earn 4.5 CEUs (the equivalent of 45 contact hours) for recertification. All courses are accepted by the Maine Department of Education.
Confronting Racism in America – starting JUNE 21
Starting JULY 5
Engaging Digital Learners
Google Suite 101 for Educators
Promoting Social & Emotional Learning
Educating Gifted and Talented Learners
Encountering the Arts: Voice, Choice and Creativity
Engaging Literature for Children and Adolescents K-12
When Trauma Comes to School
Best Practices in Teaching Literacy
Teaching Children of Poverty: Why Culture Counts
Black Authors Matter
Teaching the Exceptional Child in the Regular Classroom
Introduction to Education for Paraprofessionals
Managing Classroom Behavior
The Art of Education University – Perhaps you’d like to work totally independently this summer. The Art of Ed offers a ton of resources for you to do just that. Here are some of the readings/podcasts that you can access. Perhaps make yourself a schedule and tackle one topic a week. They have many more on their website.
Thoughtful, meaningful, figuring it out, asking questions, listening to students, high standards. When it comes to teaching all of these represent Rob Westerberg. He acts in a very serious way and approaches most actions with a humorous twist. Recently he posted a piece called “Off the Grid” on his blog “Goober Music Teachers”. He describes what he’s learned during the pandemic, how he’s embraced the situation and a caution on the importance of not comparing what you do as a teacher with what the next teacher is doing. I’m certain that this year has revealed much to us individually. My greatest hope is that the shifts we’ve been forced to make and have chosen to make have been an opportunity to learn about ourselves, like no other time in our teaching careers. No matter if your career is at the beginning, middle or end there is something for everyone to ponder in Rob’s pandemic story. I’m always grateful when Rob takes on a subject and blogs about it. His posts give me a chance to pause and reflect. The next two paragraphs are the first two paragraphs of his post. You’ll find the link to Rob’s blog post at the end so you can continue reading.
IN ROB’S OWN WORDS…
Would you believe me if I told you this has been one of the most satisfying, rewarding and happy years of my career? The phrase, “going off the grid” is a spot on reflection of what every music teacher in the country has gone through the past 14 months. Nothing has been “normal”, and a lot has been taken from us and our students since March of last year. How that has individually impacted us is dependent on many factors including whether we’ve been allowed to be in person or not, what grade level we teach, general choral or instrumental, single teacher in a school district or one of many. In any given year prior to this one, each music teacher’s journey is incredibly unique. That’s never been more true than this one.
But a funny thing happened to me right around the middle of November, and it carried through to this very week: my kids and I were learning and growing, and realizing that we were learning and growing. We started enjoying this journey together.
Rob is the 2020 Maine York County Teacher of the Year. He is co-creator of the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative (MAAI) turned Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) and presently MAEPL, Maine Arts Education Partners in Leadership, with the revised mission to “develop and promote high quality arts education for all.”
I invite you to read Rob’s FULL POST – Off the Grid, May 15, 2021. Rob can be reached at THIS LINK.
Join us for a great opportunity! The Maine Arts Commission invites arts educators and teaching artists to be a part of the Maine Arts Education Partners (MAEPL) in Leadership Summer Institute on July 27 and 28, held this year at beautiful Pilgrim Lodge on Cobbosseecontee Lake in West Gardiner. Arts Educators and Teaching Artists from across the state will come together to reflect, collaborate, address emerging needs in Arts Education and leave with an individualized plan tailored to the needs in their programs, schools, communities or regions. MAEPL teaching artists and educators:
Share ideas
Collaborate
Advocate
Amplify student and teacher voice
Commit to life-long learning
Inspire and become inspired
Educate through high quality effective teaching and learning
Make connections
Enrich lives through the Arts
Feel isolated or overwhelmed? Long for like-minded people with whom you can share your passion for the Arts and Arts Education? Wish you could have more impact within your school, community or state? We can help. Become a part of the MAEPL family today, now over 120 people strong.
The Virtual Open Art Teachers Studio is back, starting May 13! For and by Maine teachers. Open to anyone involved or interested in arts education – visual, literary and performing arts educators, teaching artists, administrators, community folks. This is a time to set aside and activate your own creativity. In this long year, we have learned that self-care is critical for those supporting others, such as arts educators. Please give yourself one hour a week to dive into your own imagination with us! Four sessions, free. To register click here. Article about past sessions can be read in the winter edition of the Maine Arts Journal here.
If you were able to attend the virtual plenary sessions on February 17 in recognition of Arts Education Advocacy Day you are aware of the outstanding opportunity the 2 hour session provided. If you were not there, you’re in luck. All of the sessions were recorded and embedded below. The day was organized by the Maine Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE) in collaboration with the leaders of the ABC – Arts Are Basic Coalition.
The first one below actually took place during the last part of Arts Education Advocacy Day, the ABC Student Advocacy Initiatives. We know at the heart of providing quality arts education programs and access to it are students! I salute all the Maine students who care deeply for the arts and are afforded an excellent curriculum. And, to all the arts educators striving to provide access to these programs, thank you!
ABC Student Advocacy Initiative
Governor Janet T. Mills Arts Ed Advocacy Message
Remarks from Maine Arts Commission Arts Education Director Martha Piscuskas
Conversation with Maine Art Education Association President Lynda Leonas and Argy Nestor
Visual Art Advocacy Video Maine Minds
Conversation with Maine Educational Theatre Association leader Kailey Smith and Beth Lambert
Maine Department of Education – Kellie Bailey, Social/Emotional Learning and Trauma-Informed Practices Specialist, Commissioner Pender Makin, and Jason Anderson, Visual and Performing Arts Specialist
Conversation with Maine Dance Educator representative Thornton Academy Dance Educator Emma Campbell and MaryEllen Schaper
Conversation with Maine Music Educators Association President Sandra Barry and Kaitlin Young
Music Advocacy Video
Thank you to Susan Potters, Executive Director of MAAEand Melissa Birkhold MAAE Advocacy Coordinator for the plenary session for Maine Arts Ed Advocacy Day and making these individual videos available. The videos are also available on the MAAE website at THIS LINK.
In December 2020 Martha Piscuskas, director of Arts Education at the Maine Arts Commission (MAC), moderated a discussion with teaching artists and a middle schooler called School Arts Residencies During COVID? Yes We Can! Included in the discussion were teaching artists: Bridget Matros, Alicia Phelps, Tim Christensen, and Dana Lagawiec with student Theo Forcier, Mt. Ararat Middle School. They discussed keys to success for remote school artist residencies and what they’re doing during the pandemic to further connections and learning opportunities for Maine learners.
The webinar was recorded and archived on YouTube and can be viewed below. The video opens with Martha sharing a land acknowledgment. Bridget Matros (starts at 4:30) is the Kids & Family Outreach Manager at Waterfall Arts and she is in the middle of a residency in Brunswick provided by the well established Arts Are Elementary program. She shares the set up in how she is teaching multiple learners in more than one space at one time. Alicia Phelps (starts at 12:00) teaches piano and voice and is Director of Community Partnerships and Special Programs at the community music center in Yarmouth, 317 Main. She is a recipient of a MAC grant. Tim is a ceramic artist (starts at 22:00) and became a Teaching Artist Leader with MAC’s Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) in Phase 6, 2016-17. Dana (starts at 31:15) does creative theater and became a Teaching Artist Leader with MALI Phase 7, 2017-18. The session finishes with circus artist MALI Phase 6, 2016-17 MALI Teaching Artist Brigid Rankowski monitoring questions. During the summer of 2020 MALI transformed into Maine Arts Education Partners in Leadership (MAEPL). Tim, Dana, Bridget, and Brigid are on the Maine Arts Commission Teaching Artist Roster.
RESOURCES FROM THE WEBINAR
Handout: Tips for Remote Residencies compiled by Bridget Matros, attached and here.
Land Acknowledgement: USDAC, the United States Department of Arts and Culture (no connection to the US government), has a great guide https://usdac.us/nativeland.
Argy Nestor
Arts Educator, Blogger, Artist, Connector meartsed@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/view/anestor/
Argy’s Blog
The purpose of this blog is to share stories about people and places; and to celebrate the amazing work (and play) that students, educators, and organizations are doing in and for arts education. In addition, the blog has a plethora of resources and innovative ideas. This forum gives blog readers the opportunity to learn from each other. It is essential that we listen, learn, and collaborate in order to build on teaching practices for the benefit of every learner in Maine and beyond.
Arts Are Elementary website 
me arts ed 