past asn awards winners

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Arts Schools Network’s Awards honor ASN member schools and individuals, as well as their communities, for their commitment to and demonstration of excellence in arts education. The award winners were recognized at ASN’s Annual Conference.

2024 awards

Arts Innovation: KRESA - Education for the Arts, Kalamazoo, MI

Community Partnership: Fine Arts Center - Greenville County Schools, Greenville, SC

Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader: Aspen Burkett, Denver School of the Arts, Denver, CO

Teacher of the Year: Alexa Melonopoulos Fleury, CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Half-day, Hartford, CT

Teacher of the Year: Brianna Smart, Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts, Jonesboro, GA

Outstanding Arts School: Caldwell Arts Academy, Tyler, TX

Outstanding Arts School: Booker Middle School, Sarasota, FL

Jeffrey Lawrence: Teren Shaffer, President & CEO, Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA), Santa Anna, CA

Presidential Founders Award: Jackie Cornelius, former Principal of The Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and current Executive Director for The Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Foundation

2022 awards

Arts Integration: Garner Fine Arts Academy, Grand Prairie, TX

Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader: Alexandra Oliva, The School for Arts and Enterprise, Pomona, CA

Teacher of the Year: Paige Oden, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

Outstanding Arts School Alumni: Dante Basco, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

Outstanding Arts School Alumni: Tyler Merritt, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, Las Vegas, NV

Jeffrey Lawrence: Dr. Drew Williams, Utah Arts Academy, St. George, UT

Presidential Founders Award: Ellery Brown, former principal of New World School of the Arts, Miami, FL

2021 awards

Arts Integration: Caldwell Arts Academy, Tyler, TX

Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader: Rachel Kramer, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

Higher Education: Citrus College, Glendora, CA

Arts Integration: The Alberta School of Performing Arts, Tuscaloosa, AL

Arts Innovation: The Mount Vernon School, Atlanta, GA

Center for Community Arts Partnerships at Columbia College Chicago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School (King Arts), Chicago, IL

2023 awards

Arts Integration: Rotella Interdistrict Magnet School, Waterbury, CT

Arts Integration: Mississippi Creative Arts School, St. Paul, MN

Arts Integration: Belmar School of Integrated Arts, Lakewood, CO

Arts Innovation: Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) Arts & Enterprise Conservatory, Santa Anna, CA

Community Partnership: American Museum of Ceramic Arts (AMOCA)/The School of Arts of Enterprise, Pomona, CA

Community Partnership: Sidewalk Film Center and Cinema/Alabama School of Fine Arts, Birmingham, AL

Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader: Dr. Keith Jones, DeKalb School of the Arts, Avondale Estates, GA

Teacher of the Year: Linda Johnson, Mid-Pacific Institute, Honolulu, HI

Teacher of the Year: Joel Duarte, Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy, Grand Prairie, TX

Teacher of the Year: Jeoffery Harris, Jr., McKinley Middle Academic Magnet School of Visual and Performing Arts, Baton Rouge, LA

Outstanding Arts School Alumni:  Keyla Monterroso Mejia, The School of Arts of Enterprise, Pomona, CA

Outstanding Arts School Alumni:  Amari Ansari, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Birmingham, AL

Outstanding Arts School: CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Half-Day Program, Hartford, CT

Outstanding Arts School: Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Natick, MA

Research Initiative - Individual: Dr. Brad Hill, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Birmingham, AL

Jeffrey Lawrence: Pamela Jordan, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA

Presidential Founders Award: John Otis, former principal of NOCCA, New Orleans, LA

2022 awards

Arts Integration: Garner Fine Arts Academy, Grand Prairie, TX

Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader: Alexandra Oliva, The School for Arts and Enterprise, Pomona, CA

Teacher of the Year: Paige Oden, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

Outstanding Arts School Alumni: Dante Basco, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

Outstanding Arts School Alumni: Tyler Merritt, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, Las Vegas, NV

Jeffrey Lawrence: Dr. Drew Williams, Utah Arts Academy, St. George, UT

Presidential Founders Award: Ellery Brown, former principal of New World School of the Arts, Miami, FL

2021 awards

Arts Integration: Caldwell Arts Academy, Tyler, TX

Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader: Rachel Kramer, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

Higher Education: Citrus College, Glendora, CA

Arts Integration: The Alberta School of Performing Arts, Tuscaloosa, AL

Arts Innovation: The Mount Vernon School, Atlanta, GA

Center for Community Arts Partnerships at Columbia College Chicago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School (King Arts), Chicago, IL

2020 awards

Community Partnership: LaVilla School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL

Governing/Support Board: Duarte Unified Board of Education, Duarte, CA

Outstanding Arts School: Garner Fine Arts Academy, Grand Prairie, TX

Research Initiative: SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville, SC

Teacher of the Year: Jim Kolb, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

Teacher of the Year: Gail Fresia, CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts

Center for Community Arts Partnerships at Columbia College Chicago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School (King Arts), Chicago, IL

2019 awards

Community Partnership: Dragon Kim Foundation, Los Angeles, CA

Governing/Support Board: Grand Prairie ISD School Board, Grand Prairie, TX

Teacher of the Year: Erin Harding, Nuner Fine Arts Academy, South Bend, IN

Teacher of the Year: Gail Fresia, CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts

Center for Community Arts Partnerships at Columbia College Chicago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School (King Arts), Chicago, IL

Jeffrey Lawrence: Scott Rudes, Ph.D., Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Dallas, TX

Arts Integration: Edwin S Richards Arts-Based Curriculum School, Mission, British Columbia

Arts Integration: Garner Fine Arts Academy, Grand Prairie, TX

Arts Integration: LaVilla School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL

Arts Innovation: Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, Saint Paul, MN

Arts Innovation: The School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), Cincinnati, OH

Arts Innovation: Garner Fine Arts Academy, Grand Prairie, TX

Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Arts Leader: Monika Wiley, Clayton County Public Schools, Jonesboro, GA

Outstanding Arts School Alumni: Abbee Levine, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

Higher Education: Dr. Karen Holbrook, The PAInT Center at USFSM

2018 awards

Arts Integration: Confederation Park, Education Through the Arts School, Burnaby, British Columbia

Arts Integration: Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy, Grand Prairie, TX

Arts Integration: Integrated Arts Academy, Burlington, VT

Community Partnership:  RedLine Contemporary Arts Center, The Center for Visual Arts, and Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy, Denver, CO

Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader:  Anne Maschler, ArTES Magnet in San Fernando, CA

New and Emerging School:  California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley in Duarte, CA

Superintendent Award:  Steven Wagner, Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA and California School of the Arts, San Gabriel Valley, CA

Teacher of the Year: Heather Stafford, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

Outstanding Arts School: LaVilla School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL

Outstanding Arts School Alumni: Kyle Selig, Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts, Huntington Beach, CA

Jeffrey Lawrence Award: R. Scott Allen, Ed.D., Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, TX

2017 awards

Arts Innovation:  LaVilla School of the Arts in Jacksonville, FL

Arts Integration: K.O. Knudson Middle School Academy of Creative Arts & Technology, Las Vegas, NV

Community Partnership:  smARTS, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Idyllwild, CA

Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader:  Louisa Castrodale, Arts Coordinator, Palm Springs Unified School District, Palm Springs, CA and Josue Gonzalez, Director of El Sistema, Conservatory Lab Charter Research Initiative: David Flatley, Arts Education Consultant, Evanston, IL

Arts School Alumni Achievement:  Krysta Rodriguez, Orange County School of the Arts, Satna Ana, CA

Teacher of the Year: Marta Ocampo, Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy, Grand Prairie, TX

Superintendent Award: Dr. Susan Simpson Hull, Superintendent of Grand Prairie ISD, Grand Prairie, TX

Higher Education:  Valerie B. Morris, Dean of the School of Arts, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC

Jeffrey Lawrence Award: Kyle Wedberg, President and CEO of New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), New Orleans, LA

2016 awards

Arts Innovation

Center for Community Arts Partnerships at Columbia College Chicago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School (King Arts), Chicago, IL

Arts Integration

Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts, Hartford, CT

Community Partnership

Esther F. Garrison School of Visual and Performing Arts, Savannah, GA and Savannah Music Festival “Musical Explorers Program”

New and Emerging School

Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy, TX

Outstanding Arts School Alumni

Nicole Mathis-Berman, Director,Dance Department, ArTES Magnet San Fernando, CA (BFA Dance and Choreography CalArts and M.Ed. National University)

Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader(s) 3 designees 

Melanie Hammer, Assistant Principal, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL

John Lawler, Principal, ArTES Magnet, San Fernando, CA

 Teren Shaffer, Dean of Arts Conservatories, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

Teacher of the Year

Dr. Mark Hoover, Vocal Music Director, Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences, WA

Jeffrey Lawrence Award

Rory Pullens, Executive Director of Arts Education, Los Angeles Unified School District, CA

2015 awards

ARTS INNOVATION AWARD
The Arts Innovation Award goes to the Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts, in Hartford, CT, for “breaking the mold” in using arts in teaching academics, and for making a positive difference in the students’ lives and their community.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP AWARD

Max H. Gluck Foundation and Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, CA, receive the Community Partnership Award for fostering artistic and educational understanding and enhancing its community.

DR. DENISE DAVIS-COTTON  EMERGING LEADER AWARD

Clinton McCracken, Magnet Coordinator, Howard Middle School,  Orlando, FL, is this year’s recipient of the Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader Award.  This award is designed to recognize excellence and achievement among rising arts schools administrators and to highlight the educational innovation practices or programs of those leaders.

OUTSTANDING ARTS SCHOOL ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Camille Zamora, alumna of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston TX, has won this year’s Outstanding Arts School Alumni Achievement Award for fostering artistic and academic achievement in talented young people and her outstanding accomplishments in citizenship, arts, and academics.

OUTSTANDING ARTS SCHOOL

Howard Middle School in Orlando, FL receives the Outstanding Arts School Award, presented for outstanding overall excellence in faculty and student achievements, community recognition and involvement, arts and academics integration, curriculum innovations, continuing growth and development, and state and national recognition.

NEW AND EMERGING SCHOOL AWARD

ArTES Magnet in San Fernando, CA, receives this year’s New and Emerging School Award.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Amber Amerson, Lavilla School of the Arts in Jacksonville, FL is ASN’s Teacher of the Year for her outstanding dedication, talents, and achievements in giving her students an excellent arts education.

JEFFERY LAWRENCE AWARD

Jeffrey Kimpton, President, Interlochen Center for the Arts, MI.  This award is granted to the head of an Arts Schools Network school who exemplifies an uncompromising commitment to excellence in arts education and arts training. Named in honor of the long-time head of the Professional Children’s School in New York, this is the most coveted award presented by ASN to an arts administrator.

2014 awards

ARTS INNOVATION AWARD

The Arts Innovation Award goes to the Idaho Arts Charter School and its Electric Orchestra in Nampa, ID, for “breaking the mold” in using arts in teaching academics, and for making a positive difference in the students’ lives and their community.

 ARTS INTEGRATION AWARD

 Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts in Hartford, CT, and Wiley H. Bates Middle School in Annapolis, MD, have won the Arts Integration Award for their exceptional strategies and accomplishments in creating curriculums that incorporate the arts with academic subjects.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP AWARD

Abbotsford School of Integrated Arts, Sumas Mountain Campus in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, receives the Community Partnership Award for fostering artistic and educational understanding and enhancing its community.

OUTSTANDING ARTS SCHOOL ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Lauren Lim Jackson, Commercial Dance Conservatory Class of 2003, Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, CA, has won this year’s Outstanding Arts School Alumni Achievement Award for fostering artistic and academic achievement in talented young people and her outstanding accomplishments in citizenship, arts, and academics.

OUTSTANDING ARTS SCHOOL

CRECGreater Hartford Academy for the Arts in Hartford, CT receives the Outstanding Arts School Award, presented for outstanding overall excellence in faculty and student achievements, community recognition and involvement, arts and academics integration, curriculum innovations, continuing growth and development, and state and national recognition.

RESEARCH INITIATIVE – INDIVIDUAL

The Research Initiative Award – Individual honors a person who has completed important research that furthers the goals of arts education. This year’s winner is Arnold Aprill, Principal Investigator for the new Radical Compliance Arts and Learning Laboratory, and Founder and former Lead Consultant for the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE).

RESEARCH INITIATIVE – INSTITUTION

The Research Initiative – Institution Award goes to The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN and its Associate Director, Steven J. Tepper. The award recognizes The Curb Center for its ongoing research and dissemination of knowledge in arts education that foster the goals of the Arts Schools Network and arts education.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Suzanne Dionne, Rotella Interdistrict Magnet School in Waterbury, CT is ASN’s Teacher of the Year for her outstanding dedication, talents, and achievements in giving her students an excellent arts education.

The recipient of the Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader Award is Emily Coalson Stamets, founder of Stamets Educational Innovation. This award recognizes excellence and achievement in rising arts schools administrators and highlights their educational innovation practices or programs.

NEW AND EMERGING SCHOOL AWARD

Edwin S. Richards Elementary School in Mission, British Columbia, Canada receives this year’s New and Emerging School Award.

2013 awards

ARTS INNOVATION AWARD
Designed to recognize commitment to taking innovative artistic risks, this award is presented to a member school that has “broken the mold” in using the arts as a vehicle for teaching academics and making a positive difference in the lives of students and/or the community.

North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts

North Fort Myers, FL 

ARTS INTEGRATION AWARD

Apalachee Tapestry Magnet School of the Arts (ATMSA), Tallahassee, FL 

Center for Creative Arts (CCA), Chattanooga, TN 

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP AWARD

Orange County School for the Arts and Farmers & Merchants Bank, Santa Ana, CA

OUTSTANDING ARTS SCHOOL ALUMNA ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Kimberly Scott, 1993, Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA), Birmingham AL

OUTSTANDING ARTS SCHOOL

Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, Las Vegas,NV

RESEARCH INITIATIVE – INDIVIDUAL

James Catterall, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus at the UCLA School of Education and Principal Investigator at the Centers for Research on Creativity, Los Angeles, CA

RESEARCH INITIATIVE – INSTITUTION

Arts Education Policy Review Journal, Tecumseh, MI 

TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Cindy Peca, Dance Teacher, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

DR. DENISE DAVIS-COTTON  EMERGING LEADER AWARD

Jackie Collins, Principal, Idaho Charter School, Nampa ID

THE JEFFREY LAWRENCE AWARD

Deborah B. Smith, Center for Creative Arts, Chattanooga, TN, Principal

2012 awards

ARTS INNOVATION AWARD

Commercial Music Program at Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA.  Benjamin Wolf, Principal

ARTS INTEGRATION AWARD

Abbotsford School of Integrated , Arts, North Poplar Campus, Abbotsford, BC, Canada *  Barbara Carter, Principal

Idaho Arts Charter School, Nampa, ID, Jackie Collins, Principal

Rotella Interdistrict Magnet School, Waterbury, CT, Gina Calabrese, Principal

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP AWARD

Camp OCSA, Orange County School of the Arts Foundation, Santa Ana, CA, Patricia McMaster, Director – Community Programs

OUTSTANDING ARTS SCHOOL 

Boston Arts Academy, Boston, MA, Linda Nathan, Ed.D., Founding Headmaster; Anne Clark, Interim Headmaster; Kathleen Marsh, Artistic Dean

NEW AND EMERGING SCHOOL AWARD

Howard Middle School Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts, Orlando. FL, Carl Cartwright, Principal

RESEARCH INITIATIVE – INDIVIDUAL

Karen Chandler, Ph.D., College of Charleston’s School of the Arts, Associate Professor Arts ManagementCharleston Jazz Initiative, Co-Principal

RESEARCH INITIATIVE – INSTITUTION

ArtsEdSearch, Arts Education Partnership, Washington, D.C., Sandra Ruppert, Director; Andrea Kruezer, Program Associate

OUTSTANDING ARTS SCHOOL ALUMNUS ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Brett Egan, 1995, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Tim Nelson, Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts, Huntington Beach, CA

DR. DENISE DAVIS-COTTON EMERGING LEADER AWARD

Scott Rudes, Ph.D., Principal, Orange Grove Middle Magnet School of the Arts, Tampa, FL

THE JEFFREY LAWRENCE AWARD

Ralph Opacic, ED.D., President & Executive Director, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA