NH Art Educators Association

2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006
2000 | 2001 | 2002 |                Melody Funk
2000 | 2001 | 2002 |                Scott Chatfield

Award Year -- 2000
Art Educator of the Year
Londonderry Middle School

Julie Wood
30 Kristin Drive
Derry, NH 03038
603/437-8629 (H)

Biographical Data
Julie A. Wood received a Bachelor of Arts in Art Education, cum laude, from Our Lady of the Elms College, Chicopee, Massachusetts. Wood is an art educator at Londonderry Middle School in Londonderry.

Characteristics Leading to the Award
Julie Wood teaches 450 grade seven students at the Londonderry Middle School with a team of teachers who plan creative units, art activities, art shows and student recognition. She is past president and conference chairperson of NH Art Educator Association, a member of the NH Art Allstate Steering Committee and the Scholastic Art Awards Board. A member of the Board of Directors of the NH Excellence in Education Awards, Julie's students have made the centerpieces for the annual "ED"ies Awards Ceremonies for the past two years. Wood says, "My involvement in these organizations keeps me on my toes and my love and excitement for the visual arts and the importance of it keeps me motivated.

Award Year -- 2001
Art Educator of the Year
Nashua High School

Donald Provencher
289 Pinebrook Drive
Manchester, NH 03109
603/594-4311 (O) Ext. 112
603/594-4373 (Fax)
603/668-3738 (H)
provencherd@nashua.edu

Biographical Data
Donald graduated from Plymouth State College with a BS in Art Education in 1977. Since then he has been an art educator at Nashua Senior High School. He is also the yearbook advisor and teaches in the Nashua Community Adult School, as well as serving as the Nashua Art Administrator for the Educational Testing Services.

Characteristics Leading to the Award
Donald's enthusiasm and commitment to the visual arts have been clearly demonstrated in his membership in the Art Educators Association and in his work at the local and state level. Provencher has served as chairperson of the NH Art Educators Association's fall conference. Prior to there being an organized Youth Art Month in New Hampshire, Donald coordinates a citywide program that included the work of students for 23 art educators. His own philosophical statement sums up his belief in the importance of visual education. "Art is crucial to the development of a child and we should provide them with the time and guidance and means for expressing their innermost concerns, desires and emotions. As art educators we must continue to be advocates for 'The Arts' and demand that our arts programs be expanded and enhanced by our communities."
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Award Year -- 2002
Art Educator of the Year
Merrimack Valley School District

Trina Wick-Patnaude
82 Blackwater Road
Concord, NH 03301
603/783-4400 (O)
stevenpatnaude@sprintmail.com

Biographical Data
Trina Wick-Patnaude attended the University of Southern Maine and received a BA in Art from Plymouth State College. She has taught art at Loudon, Salisbury and Webster Elementary Schools in the Merrimack Valley School District since 1996. Wick-Patnaude serves as Regional Vice-President of the NH Art Educators Association and is a member of the National Art Education Association and the International Child Art Foundation.

Characteristics Leading to the Award
Trina Wick-Patnaude’s art lessons change yearly within the Fine Arts Curriculum, and are supplemented with additional lessons designed and created by the classroom teacher to provide further enrichment of artistic concepts. Art lessons are often integrated with other classroom subjects (language arts, science, social studies, and math) to enhance learning. Many projects incorporate the use of multi-media. Two of Wick-Patnaude’s art lessons have been published in School Arts magazine. Students gain confidence as they use a multi-sensory approach to express themselves. Each student has his or her own art portfolio to show progress from the beginning to the end of the year. An annual art show in each school is a culminating end-of-the-year event that displays the best of each student’s work and offers parents the opportunity to view their child’s accomplishment. Student work has been submitted and accepted for display at many community exhibits at local, state and national levels. For example, one student’s artwork was displayed on the Astrovision screen in Times Square, New York City. Other students worked together to create, in memory of a classmate, a piece of artwork that is on permanent display at Concord Hospital.
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Award Year -- 2003
Art Educator of the Year
Peter Woodbury School

Luci Prawdzik
18 Avery Lane
Andover, MA 01810
603/622-0431 (O) Ext. 257
978/687-9126 (Fax)
lcprawdzik@comcast.com

Biographical Data
Luci Cortese Prawdzik received a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art, a MEd from Notre Dame College in Manchester, a CAGS in Leadership and Administration from Plymouth State College, Principal Certification, and is a doctoral candidate at Argosy University in Sarasota, FL. Prawkzik has taught art education in the Bedford School District since 1978, since 1999 at Peter Woodbury Elementary School and at McKelvie Middle School from 1978 - 1999. Previously she taught in Milford, NH and Westford, MA.

Characteristics Leading to the Award
Luci Prawdzik has an impressive list of professional qualifications: mentoring for new teachers, grant writing for the visual and performing arts, developing and implementing the school budget, writing and developing curriculum for the visual arts, aligning curriculum to state frameworks, taking post graduate courses in special education school law and legal policies, presenting a district workshop titled "Bullying Behavior at the Elementary Level", training in "Responsive Classroom" methodology, organizing and facilitating a Great Artist Series enrichment program for 700 students and collaborating with the Bedford PTG and ORK (Opportunity Reaching Kids) to organize cultural events for 730 students. According to Prowdzik, the Visual Arts are a basic part of every student’s education and its purpose is to develop lifelong skills for communication and expression. The elements of design and the principles of art surround us in our environment, therefore art should be integrated into all other disciplines. Prawdzik believes that, "Celebrating student art throughout the school and in the community creates a visual culture and a visual awareness. The artwork provides visual images that stimulate the mind, please the eye and focus on the creative diversity of children of all races and cultures."
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Award Year - 2004
Art Educator of the Year
Holderness Central School

Melody R. Funk
125 Quincy Bog Road
Rumney, NH 03266
603/536-2538 (O)
603/536-1772 (Fax)
melodyrfunk@yahoo.com

Characteristics Leading to the Award
Melody has taught Art and Integrated Arts at the Holdemess Central School for the past 18 years. In her Integrated Arts Program, the arts are integrated into the core academic curriculum drawing on student's creative abilities. Her work during these years has helped to shape awareness of the arts as well as a school rich in the arts. Her work with the Artist in Residence Program has also brought the Theatre Arts to her school and further enriched the school's curriculum.
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Award Year - 2004
Art Educator of the Year
Coe-Brown Northwood Academy

Scott P. Chatfield
15 Tumble Road
Bedford, NH 03110
603/942-5531 (O)
603/942-7537 (Fax)
chatart@earthlink.net or schatfield@coebrownacademy.com

Characteristics Leading to the Award
Scott Chatfield has been an art educator for twenty years and has taught art at Coe-Brown Northwood Academy for the last seventeen years. He is currently the curriculum coordinator for the fine arts department and teaches a variety of art courses, including photography, drawing and painting, ceramics and sculpture, and advanced placement studio art. He tries to provide such a diverse arts curriculum so that there will be a wide variety of expressive opportunities for all levels of students. He tries to encourage his students to excel and develop creative problem solving skills while having fun creating art.
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Award Year - 2005
Art Educator of the Year
Griffin Memorial School

Heidi Hale Miller
2 Grove Court
Litchfield, NH 03052
603/424-5931 (O)
603/424-2677 (Fax)
hmiller@litchfieldsd.org

Characteristics Leading to the Award
Heidi Hale Miller teaches grades K-5 at the Giffin Memorial School in Litchfield and was nominated by her principal, Dr. Linda Scott. Dr. Scott noted in her nomination letter, "Heidi's dedication to the arts and her understanding of the importance of Arts in the development of the whole child is central to the outstanding program she provides." Colleagues also expressed in their letters of support for her nomination her dedication to her students, the community and her willingness to write grants that bring the Artist in Residency Program to the school to work with children. In 1995 she established an after school Art Club program for 4th and 5th graders that has since evolved into an enrichment program for all 4th grade students. Additionally Mrs. Miller serves on several committees to raise funds with her students for community organizations and scholarships. What Deborah likes the most about her profession is that it allows her to be creative everyday and to be able to present lessons that will inspire students.
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Award Year - 2006
Art Educator of the Year
South Londonderry School

Marcia B. Connors
88 South Road
Londonderry, NH 03053

Characteristics Leading to the Award
For the past fifteen years, Marcia B. Connors has taught art to students in grades 1-5 at South Londonderry Elementary School. She also works for the Currier Art Museum during their Vacation Day Camps. Connors has been commended for her work with children and lesson development. She collaborates with teachers in order to infuse the arts into their curriculum. She has been instrumental in writing grants to bring artists into her school to work with children through the Artists in Residence Program. Connors has displayed her students’ artwork at the Department of Education, Southeastern Regional Education Service Center (SERESC), Youth Art Exhibition, and the annual school Art Show.
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