NAEA Elementary Division 2014 Awards Program

Elementary Division Sessions at NAEA San Diego

SATURDAY 3/29/2014

Elementary Conversations with Colleagues TIME:  4:30 - 5:50 PM Convention Center/Meeting Room 15A/Mezzanine Level                                                                       Connect with other elementary art teachers, including the Elementary Division Leadership Team. Enjoy an overview of the conference, an update on the new National Arts Standards, door prizes, and more. PRESENTER(S): Nancy Walkup, Thom Knab       

SUNDAY 3/30/2014 2014

National Elementary Winner Showcase: Bob Reeker TIME: 9:00 - 9:50 AM Best Practice Lecture Convention Center/Meeting Room 8/Upper Level The 2013 National Elementary Art Educator of the Year, Bob Reeker, will show- case his award-winning art program. You don’t want to miss what this accomplished teacher has to share! PRESENTER(S): Bob Reeker

Elementary Carousel of Learning: Advocacy TIME:  9:30 - 10:20 AM Best Practice Lecture Hilton/Indigo 204B/Level 2 Elementary art educators from across the country will share short presentations and discussions on a subject no art educator can afford to ignore: advocacy for the art program. PRESENTER(S): Nancy Walkup, Thom Knab, Tricia Fuglestad, Michelle Lemons, Cassie Stephens, Christine Besack, Rebecca Carleton

Elementary Carousel of Learning: Technology TIME: 12:25 - 1:20 PM Best Practice Lecture Hilton Hotel/Indigo 204B/Level 2 Experience different uses of technology currently at play in many art rooms. Ask questions and get answers from art teachers who use technology effectively every day. PRESENTER(S): Nancy Walkup, Thom Knab, Lani Warner Yuen, Jaime Alper, Michelle Savran, Amber Ward, Nikki Everett

Thanks so much to all the commercial exhibitors, publishers, and museums who have generously donated the door prizes for the elementary division events. Thanks to Crayola, SchoolArts Magazine, Arts & Activities, Crystal Productions, Sax/School Specialty Company, CRIZMAC Art & Cultural Materials, the Museum of International Folk Art, the Albuquerque Art and History

2014 NAEA Elementary Division Awards Luncheon

March 29, 2014

2014 Pacific Region Elementary of the Year: Michael Simmons2014 Eastern Region Elementary Art Educator of the Year: Rebecca Carleton

Meet Your NAEA Elementary Division Directors

Nancy Walkup, NAEA Elementary Director 2223 Parkside Drive, Denton, TX 76201 [email protected] [email protected]

NAEA Elementary Director Elect Thom Knab, 388 Summer Street #1, Buffalo, NY 14213 [email protected]

Director Tina Atkinson [email protected]

Eastern Region Director Susan Bivona spbivona@earthlin

Western Region Director Michelle Lemons [email protected]

Pacific Region Director Andrean Andrus [email protected]

2014 NAEA Elementary Division

AwardsMarch 29, 2014

Hilton Bayfront HotelSan Diego, California

Congratulations to the Pacific Region 2014 Elementary Art Educator Michael Simmons. Michael lives in Portland, Oregon and teaches at the Buckman Arts Focus School in Portland where his school program includes visual arts, music, dance, and drama for all 500 students. Michael and his students create theater set designs and construct props for multiple school productions. He also serves as a resource for classroom teachers who do not have art programs in their schools.

Michael has been named Oregon Art Teacher of the Year for 2012, has attended national conferences since 1999, was the Pacific Region Elementary Director in 2005, has been a presenter at state and national conferences, and serves as an adjunct professor at Portland State University. Michael is a raku artist, teaching summer art programs. He is currently on the writing team for Oregon concerning NCCAS’s new national art standards.

Check out Michael’s blog at http://www.seldomsceneartworks.com/. “In his selection you will find a rare human being who embodies the integration of life and art that all of us need in our lives to be fully human.” Chisao Hata

Congratulations to the Western Region Elementary Art Educator Melanie Robinson. Melanie has been an art teacher at Cedar Springs Elementary in House Springs, Missouri for 13 years. She has been a member of NAEA since 1993 and has attended 4 national conferences and presented at almost every state conference for the last 20 years.

She has received the MAEA President’s appreciation award in 2002 and the Missouri Outstanding Art Educator Award Art Educator of the Year in 2003. In 2004, she was named Missouri’s Outstanding Educator at the Western Region Awards.

Melanie has written curriculum and planned professional development for her district, has been published in SchoolArts Magazine, and is a practicing artist. You’ll find Melanie’s students’ artwork at http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=22482

“Melanie Robinson is a teacher who is passionate about her students. She is a superb educator and supporter of art education for all children at all levels.” Paul Ziegler

Congratulations to the NAEA 2014 Eastern Region Elementary Art Educator Rebbie Carleton. Rebecca Carleton teaches at Randolph Elementary School in Randolph, Vermont. Rebecca has held leadership positions for 30+ years in the Vermont Art Teachers Association (VATA), joining the board in 1995, and serving in multiple positions such as YAM chair, web master, and president from 2004-2011.

Rebecca, known as Rebbie, has represented VATA at the delegate’s assembly at NAEA and has a record of organizing student tours and planning professional development. You can find Rebbie’s students’ work at http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=80841.http://www.thesmartteacher.com/user/Rebbie

“Rebbie is a great believer that the arts provide students with unique and powerful methods of communication, are a vehicle for understanding cultural diversity, and enhance creative problem solving. She works hard to ensure that students of all abilities are meaningfully involved in projects and gallery experiences. The lives of many young people and adults in the region have been enriched through her work.” Janet Cathey

2014 Western Region Elementary Art Educator of the Year: Melanie Robinson

Thanks to the Director Elect and the Regional Directors for making the convention such a success!

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Drew Brown, the Southeastern Region Elementary Art Educator of the Year, teaches at Sweet Apple Elementary School in Roswell, Georgia. She is the GAEA Elementary Art Educator of the Year 2013, a past president of GAEA and the 2008 GAEA Museum Educator. Drew has also received the 2001 GAEA Distinguished Service Award and the 2006 NAEA Presidential Citation Award.

Drew is well known for the floats she and her students build every year for the annual Roswell Youth Day Parade. Her students have also been exhibited at The Capitol Art Exhibit in Atlanta and in the state’s Youth Art Month Flag design contest. Drew has worked as a museum educator, helped to review and write state visual arts standards, served as an adjunct at the university level. You can view Drew’s students’ artwork at http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=93085

“Drew Brown is a teacher of the year each and every day. She showcases what it is to care and love each of her students, believing in them as learners and creative artists. She is not only my art teacher hero, she is her students’ hero and her colleagues at the state and national level.” Debi West

2014 Southeastern Region Elementary Art Educator of the Year: Drew Brown

2014 NAEA Elementary Art Educator of the Year: Melissa Hronkin

Melissa Hronkin is an art teacher at Houghton Elementary who lives in Greenland Township, Michigan. Melissa was also the elementary art educator of the year for the Michigan Art Education Association.

Though Melissa lives just about as far away from the heart of Michigan as anyone can, she has been an active memberof MAEA, attending conferences and meetings, often a 12-hour drive away. She has represented MAEA and presented at NAEA conferences and NAEA Western Region Summer Leadership Institutes.

Melissa also serves as an adjunct at Finlandia University, teaches summer arts camps for youth and community art classes, and spearheads summer professional development retreats. Her passion for beekeeping has influenced her recent encaustic and installation artworks.

Melissa’s passions have also led her to present her own TED Talk at Marquette TEDx Talks, “Lessons from the Hive,” which you can watch at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxlkOKsdrJQ. You can also visit her gallery at http://www.zerodegreesgallery.com/melissa-hronkin.html

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