Northwest suburban teacher is Art Educator of the Year
The Illinois Art Education Association has named Tricia Fuglestad the 2011 Illinois Art Educator of the Year.
Fuglestad lives in Hoffman Estates and teaches at Dryden Elementary in Arlington Heights. The award recognizes the exemplary contributions, service and achievements of one outstanding IAEA member annually.
The award will be presented at the IAEA conference in downstate Normal on the weekend of Nov. 11.
Fuglestad was selected on the basis of her outstanding commitment to visual art education in her field as well as her wider contributions in the Northeastern Illinois region. She is a National Board Certified teacher and has taught at Dryden for 19 years. She has served IAEA as the Bits and Pieces e-news editor since 2009, bringing her vast online resources and IAEA updates to members on a weekly basis.
Fuglestad has also shared her ideas and resources as a presenter at both IAEA and National Art Education Association conferences.
In 2010, she was chosen by Davis Publications as one of six art educators from around the nation to provide professional development through an online webinar. Mrs. Fuglestad has also offered her technology expertise at a teacher workshop at the Art Institute of Chicago, was the keynote speaker for the New Jersey Art Educators and Technology Symposium in May 2011, and was a guest speaker for the Indiana Art Education Association State Conference this fall. Not surprisingly, she was a National PBS Teacher Innovator Award winner in 2010.
Fuglestad is best known for her national and international award-winning student-created movies, which include the bristling tale of "Young Sloppy Brush" and the environmentally conscious "Let's Be Green When It's Time to Clean".
The Dryden art program has also been elevated to publication in a text book and student artwork highlighted in the NYC "Big Screen Project".
Dryden Principal Robert Jares said, "Tricia is friendly and demonstrates warmth, caring and respect for students. She uses humor to help students feel more comfortable, creates memorable moments and also models creativity to inspire them to grow in confidence and creativity."
The IAEA is an association of the art educators of Illinois. The organization has been serving the children and art educators of Illinois for over 60 years by providing professional development for educators through workshops, conferences, grants, exhibition opportunities, facilitating communication, promoting conditions for the effective teaching of art, and working to influence educational change and reform.