Art Education Leadership Award Winners 2020

Awarded to visionaries who continually inspire their peers in the art education community through their online school gallery on Artsonia.

Congratulations to:

Rachel Buckley - Howard Middle School (Orlando, FL)

Victoria Carlton - Hamilton School and Stony Lane Elementary School (North Kingstown, RI)

Jennifer Cummings - Cedar Creek Elementary (Lee's Summit, MO)

Heather Duffy - South Oldham High School (Crestwood, KY)

Sara Farrell - Jarrettown Elementary School (Dresher, PA)

Emily Fineberg - Angell School and Martin Luther King Elementary School (Ann Arbor, MI)

Edward Lu - Stevens Cooperative School (Hoboken, NJ)

Sarah Matthews - J.B. Watkins Elementary (Midlothian, VA)

Christopher Morris - Prairie Elementary School (Buffalo Grove, IL)

Jenell Novello - Natomas Charter School - Leading Edge Academy (Sacramento, CA)

Elise Pennington - Ocean Township Elementary School (Oakhurst, NJ)

Sam Plasch - Hillcrest Elementary School (Chippewa Falls, WI)

Lisa Ross - Duval Charter School at Coastal (Jacksonville, FL)

Sarah Witke - Parkside Elementary School (Monroe, WI)

Judith Woodward - Pinellas Central Elementary School (Pinellas Park, FL)

Rachel Buckley

Howard Middle School (Orlando, FL)

Rachel Buckley is a graduate of Florida State University (GO NOLES!). She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Art Education in 2001. She grew up in Orlando and attended Orange County Public Schools. She has been teaching art at the middle school level since 2001. Her art interests and areas of proficiency include painting (acrylic and watercolor), drawing very detailed designs in pen and ink, sewing and fiber arts, painting furniture, graphic arts, clay sculpture, jewelry fabrication, and design. Rachel is an active member of the Florida Art Education Association and the National Art Education Association. She was a recipient of the Kessler, Grand Bohemian Excellence in the Arts Award and scholarship in 2006. She also published and edited an award-winning art and literature magazine with Westridge Middle School, Voice, in partnership with Howard Middle School in 2004. Most importantly, her passion is teaching students how to express themselves through art.

Victoria Carlton

Hamilton School & Stony Lane Elementary School (North Kingstown, RI)

I have been teaching art for 16 years, including 12 years at the elementary level. Exposing students to various artists and art history helps students develop an appreciation for the arts. Experimenting with various materials and techniques to create fabulous, original artworks builds students´ self confidence and supports a lifetime of appreciation for the arts and its connections to our world.

Jennifer Cummings

Cedar Creek Elementary (Lee's Summit, MO)

I started this crazy art journey 11 years ago and have loved every minute of it. I started in Raytown, MO for 4 years, then taught in Grain Valley, MO for 3 years and have been in Lee's Summit, MO for the last 4 glorious years. Every week I teach art to 500+ amazing artists ranging from Kindergarten all the way up to Sixth Grade. It gets a little hectic at times having 40 short minutes to teach, but loving what you do makes it all worth it. These artists are brave and bold and never afraid to take chances. I hope you enjoy their work as much as I do!

Heather Duffy

South Oldham High School (Crestwood, KY)

I have been teaching Art in Kentucky for over 23 years. I grew up in Louisville but fell in love with my college town of Murray State University where I stayed and taught in both of the local high school and middle school art programs. My family and I relocated to the Louisville area to be close to family last year and I am thrilled to be a part of the SOHS Dragon family. Painting and photography were my areas of focus in college at Murray State University. In my classroom lessons I love to incorporate collage and mixed media techniques not unlike the early Cubist and Abstract Expressionist artists of the early 20th century. Some of the artists that most inspire me are Rene Magritte, Henri Matisse, and Jasper Johns. I especially love the photography of contemporary artist Erik Johansson and the modern work of Jerry Ueslmann. I am inspired by nature in my personal work and my primary focus in the classroom is provide rich visual experiences for students to grow in their own personal creative expression. I love Artsonia for it's amazing portfolio tools and the way it connects the classroom to our community.

Sara Farrell

Jarrettown Elementary School (Dresher, PA)

I have been the art teacher at Jarrettown Elementary since 2005. I have a bachelors degree in art education from Penn State University and a masters of education from Gratz College. I am also a published children's book illustrator, with my third book set to be released in 2017! I have always loved art and I want the students in my class to love art, both making it and appreciating art by other people. our art room is a place where we can let loose, get messy and have fun, all while learning a lot, too! I am very grateful to work with so many bright, creative children every day and help them to make something truly unique.

Emily Fineberg

Angell School and King Elementary School (Ann Arbor, MI)

I have been teaching art for over 13 years in a variety of settings. I currently teach elementary art in Ann Arbor Public Schools in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This is my 3rd year in the district and it feels like home. Making art brings me so much joy, and to be able to share that with my students brings me even more joy. Our art room is a space where students get to experiment, create, make mistakes, learn, grow, collaborate, and persevere. The connections I make with my students and the excitement they have for creating art is inspiring!

Edward Lu

Stevens Cooperative School (Hoboken, NJ)

Art teacher at Stevens Cooperative School since 2004, member of NJ Association of Independent Schools. The best part of my job is nurturing and supporting students' authentic expression, as sometimes only art can do, and passing on the skills and thinking so they can imagine a better, more beautiful society. And I am a Taiwanese-American immigrant!

Sarah Matthews

J.B. Watkins Elementary (Midlothian, VA)

I have been teaching elementary Art since 1987. I have taught at Watkins Elem. since 1995. Watkins is a wonderful school with supportive staff, administration, and parents. I think being an elementary art teacher is the most exciting, interesting, and FUN job in the World! I love dreaming up new projects for my students to see what incredible work they will produce. I believe making connections to other subjects with art helps increase students interests and learning. I love networking with other teachers and helping student teachers get off to great start. I LOVE Artsonia as a way for students to share their work with friends and family and for teachers to obtain ideas.

Christopher Morris

Prairie Elementary School (Buffalo Grove, IL)

I have been teaching art for 22 years at Prairie Elementary School. I have been using Artsonia with my students for 12 years. I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts in art education, and painting from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Rockford University. I continue to try to improve my own art by painting at home in my spare time. I paint using oils and acrylics. I use a child's perspective of the city to inspire my cityscapes. Currently find myself painting small portraits of both famous people and loved ones. Follow me on twitter: @MrMorrisArt

Jenell Novello

Natomas Charter School - Leading Edge Academy (Sacramento, CA)

Expressive Arts is a CORE class that students attend daily. "Expressions" is a rich arts program that integrates core academic subjects, supports 21st century skills and promotes innovation and creativity through the Arts!

Elise Pennington

Ocean Township Elementary School (Oakhurst, NJ)

I pursued my Fine Arts, Art History, and Education degrees at the University of the Arts and Georgian Court University. I’ve had the privilege of teaching art to kindergarten through fourth grade at Ocean Township Elementary School in New Jersey since 2011. I started working with Artsonia during my second year at OTES and it has been an amazing journey! I truly believe that Artsonia provides the best platform to share student work with their families near and far while also building a digital portfolio that documents their growth over the course of the year and year to year. I aim to photograph and upload every art project that each student makes so that each student has a comprehensive portfolio of their artwork. It is an incredible resource to look back at student’s portfolios to see where they started in kindergarten and view the evolution of their art over the years all the way to the end of fourth grade. Each year I am more and more amazed at the talent of my young artists!

Samantha Plasch

Hillcrest Elementary School (Chippewa Falls, WI)

Lisa Ross

Duval Charter School at Coastal (Jacksonville, FL)

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up," Pablo Picasso. This quote sums up my goal in life.....to find the artist and encourage....in myself and in my students. I was born in Galveston, Texas in 1978. I have always loved being creative and different and my mom encouraged this side of me. I attended the Univ. of Texas, in Austin and graduated with my BA in Fine Arts with my focus in painting. I love to travel and lived in the US Virgin Islands for 9 years. I ended up teaching at a private school in St. Croix and discovered my love for sharing the arts with my students. I returned to the States in 2015 and landed in Colorado for two years to pursue my teacher's certification. My fiance and I missed the warmth and water and we moved to Florida in 2017 to live in Jacksonville. I have been teaching at Coastal for the past three years.

Sarah Witke

Parkside Elementary School (Monroe, WI)

I have BA degrees in both Graphic Design and Art Education from Iowa State University. For many years I worked as a Human Resources Business Partner at a Madison area insurance company. After a corporate buyout, I decided to make a change, renew my teaching license and was fortunate enough to join the staff at Parkside. Every year, I enjoy teaching each student as they explore the world of art. Over the last several years the elementary art team has developed a document to guide us through our curriculum planning. We teach the elements of art by developing lessons that expose students to the different mediums and align with the National Standards. My overall goal as a teacher, is to prepare students for the ever changing world around them and I do this through teaching fine art and visual literacy. Brian Kennedy, from Dartmouth College once said, “visual literacy is a form of critical thinking that enhances intellectual capacity”. In his TED Talk he also explains how each of us were able to understand our surroundings visually before we could understand the written word. Images are a global language. This really resonated with me. I am helping little minds to increase their capacity to learn and connect to others. I can’t imagine a job more important than this and I’m excited and challenged each day as I try to exceed my expectations.

Judith Woodward

Pinellas Central Elementary School (Pinellas Park, FL)

Mrs. Woodward has been the art teacher at Pinellas Central Elementary for more than 10 years. She has a Master’s Degree in Art Education from Florida State University. She also completed her undergraduate work at FSU, majoring in visual arts with a concentration in photography. Many of her young artists have displayed their work in art shows throughout Pinellas County. Several of her students have also had the privilege of receiving top honors of recognition for their artwork. Mrs. Woodward regularly facilitates trainings for other art teachers both at the county and state levels. Additionally, Mrs. Woodward maintains an online collection of instructional videos. Please visit and subscribe on YouTube at Elementary Art Lab.