Harris County teacher is the 2018 Georgia Middle Level Art Educator of the Year
A Harris County teacher is the Georgia’s Middle Level Art Educator of the Year.
Florence Barnett of Creekside Intermediate School received the award during the 2018 Georgia Art Education Association professional development conference Nov. 1-3 on Jekyll Island.
“All I can say is that I simply love my job,” Barnett said in the Harris County School District’s news release. “I am always looking for ways to show off our students’ talent, and we have a lot of artistically talented students here in Harris County.”
An affiliate of the National Art Education Association, the association is a professional organization of art educators. Its mission is to advocate for the highest quality visual arts education and to provide for the advancement of knowledge through service, leadership and research.
Creekside Principal Lindie Snyder said, “We are fortunate that Mrs. Barnett is an incredibly talented artist. She loves showing students new and interesting ways to be creative by teaching them that art has many mediums. Her love of art is truly contagious.”
Harris County High School art teacher Sondra Palmer, who won the Ledger-Enquirer’s 2018 Sara Spano Top Teacher Award in May, said Barnett “has the extraordinary talent to connect and actively engage her students through focused teaching practices. She helps students develop visual learning skills, decision-making skills, and motor skills. She creates a classroom that fosters teamwork, critical thinking, individual effort, and a sense of belonging.”
The association’s selection committee chose Barnett out of the nominees from each school district. The selection process included classroom visits.
Barnett has taught in Harris County for nine years. She is the coordinator for the school district’s meetings of all its art departments.
Mark Rice, 706-576-6272, @MarkRiceLE.
This story was originally published November 12, 2018 at 9:35 PM.