Art Awards Announced

TYLER – Seven educators are being honored with Arts in Education Awards. Young Audiences of Northeast Texas announced the 2019 award winners. Individual arts educators from public and/or private schools within the Region 7 geographic area were eligible to be nominated. Finalists were selected by a panel of local arts professionals and community members. The winners will be honored at an award ceremony and dinner to be held in April at Tyler’s Willow Brook Country Club.

The newly named Kay Arms Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an educator who has dedicated his or her life to arts education. The 2019 recipient is Laura Swartz, a music teacher at Tyler’s Birdwell Elementary.

Two teachers won the Rising Star Award, which goes to someone who has been teaching three years or less. The winners are Adrienne Stine, a visual art teacher at Tyler’s Boulter Middle School and Chauncy Williams, Visual Art Teacher at Winona Middle School.

For Arts Teaching Excellance, the elementary school winner is Kristin Pool, Music Teacher at Tyler’s Rice Elementary. The middle school winner is is Amy Bailey, Visual Art Teacher at Lindale’s EJ Moss Imtermediate. The High School winner goes to Amy Clemens at Tyler’s Robert E Lee High School.

The Distinguished Service to the Profession Award honors teachers who in addition to a praiseworthy career teaching students, have given back to their own art form. This award goes to Dana Sepko, a dance teacher at Tyler’s Caldwell Arts Academy.