Happy Retirement!

Maine is fortunate to have such marvelous educators!

We know that what a teacher offers can have an enormous impact on student development day to day AND over their lifetime. As educators retire at the close of another school year, 2017-18, I know that you join me in THANKING them for their years of service and dedication to students across the state.

I certainly appreciate your commitment and I wish each of you a healthy retirement and many, many years of laughter and love!

The following have contributed a combined 483+ years to teaching visual or performing arts education!

• VICKI BOVE, Gorham Middle School, Visual Arts, 40 years
• FLO ESINGER, SAD l5, Visual Arts, ? years
• ALLEN GRAFFAM, Mt. Ararat High School, Music, 42 years
• KATIE HALL, Falmouth Elementary School, Visual Arts, 24 years
• PHIL HAMMET, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, Visual Arts, 16 years
• JULIE KLEHN, Waterboro Elementary School, Visual Arts, 31 years
• STEPHANIE LEONARD, Fairmount School, Bangor, Visual Arts, 25 years
• ANNE MACEACHERN, Sanford Junior High School, Visual Arts, 40 years
• JENNI NULL, Songo Locks Elementary School, Music, 40 years
• SAM MOORE-YOUNG, Carrie Ricker School, Litchfield, Music, 32 years
• BEVERLY PACHECO, South School, Rockland, Music, 36 years
• CANDACE PARKER, Lee Academy, Theatre Arts, 22 years
• MARYELLEN SCHAPER, Bonny Eagle Middle School, Dance and PE, 42 years
• CAROL SHUTT, Mount Desert Island Elementary School, Visual Arts, 22 years
• KATHI SUSI, Pittston Consolidated School, Gardiner, Visual Arts, 28 years
• THEO VAN DEVENTER, Mt. View Middle School, Thorndike, Music, 43 years
• Flo Eslinger, who is retiring from elementary visual art after serving SAD

A wonderful note from Ann MacEachern on her retirement from Sanford Junior High School after 40 years:

“I’ll miss the chance to interact with kids as they discover talents they didn’t know they had. The outliers, the experimenters and the endearingly quirky denizens of the art room have made most days a joy. 

Retirement will give me a chance to reorder my priorities: more family time (I have 5 grandchildren), my OWN art projects need attention, traveling adventures, live music venues, environmental concerns, sorting years of accumulation to make space for new blessings… the list goes on. 

To ARTS teachers everywhere: Keep pushing for expansion ARTS time in school schedules, physical space in school buildings and fewer students per art teacher. The world needs creative problem solving now more than ever!”

Honoring Stephanie Leonard

Outstanding Service to the Profession

Kal introducing Stephanie to the guests

At a ceremony held recently at the University of Maine Museum of Art Stephanie Leonard was honored for her years of dedication and received the Outstanding Service to the Profession award and was presented by the Maine Art Education Association. Stephanie was nominated by Kal Elmore and included the following in Stephanie’s nomination:

“…. Stephanie has always understood the need to reach out to students, parents, classroom teachers, art teachers, and community members to help support arts education. She is always there with an idea, a push in the right direction, and that special little ‘je ne sais quoi’ when you need it. Do you need a marker? She has it? A theme idea? She has it. A poster of the president? She has it.

Colleague and friend Fran Clukey holds “mona steph”

…she is an amazing collector of all things Mona! Appropriation is her middle name.
…Stephanie is an inspiring art educator. She has spent 14 years in the classroom and is always advocating for programs and kids. No matter where she is she finds ideas for art projects. She is constantly finding ideas for themes, materials for projects, and suggestions for ways to promote art.

Stephanie has experience in instruction at all educational levels, educational leadership, teacher supervision and development of curriculum. She is also the administrator of a family foundation with experience in community relations, philanthropy, and board management
Stephanie is a friend, ally, tireless advocate and enthusiastic supporter of the visual arts. “

Stephanie with sister-in-law and Brewer High School art teacher Lori Spruce

MAEA Awards Ceremony

University of Maine Museum of Art

Suzanne Goulet from the Maine Art Education Association awards committee planned a party that celebrated the outstanding work that goes on in visual arts classrooms across the state. Not only did we celebrate good teaching but we had a great time. The event was held at the University of Maine Museum of Art in Bangor Friday, April 5.

Four teachers were recognized for their contributions that spanned the last 3 decades.

• Middle Level Art Educator of the Year: Susan L. Beaulier, Ashland Schools
• Elementary Art Educator of the Year: Cathy Grisby, SAD #61
• Outstanding Service to the Profession: Stephanie Leonard, Bangor Schools
• Maine Art Educator of the Year: Sandy J. Brennan, Wells Schools

In the near future each teacher will have a post dedicated to them so you can learn more about their contributions to Arts education.

A great big thank you to the University of Maine Museum of Art, Director and Curator George Kinghorn and Education Coordinator Eva Wagner for hosting the event! Everyone enjoyed the artwork, the food, and especially the company!

Who’s Behind the Mask?

Arts and Activities

Stephanie Leonard teaches art at the Fairmount School in Bangor to grade 4 and 5 students. And, she had an article published in the September 2011 issue of Arts and Activities. The article called Who’s Behind the Mask? describes how she “combined a classic lesson on portraiture with the creation of a mask.” You can read this marvelous article by clicking here. When you get to that page just click on the article title for a great read. Congratulations Stephanie!

Reproduced with permission from the Sept 2011 issue of Arts & Activities magazine.