Published: April 02, 2009 11:25 pm      

WL educator receives state Arts Ed Award

Amanda Goldman is deeply vested in arts education.

When she began her teaching career in 1987, Goldman, currently an intellectually and artistically gifted teacher at West Lauderdale Elementary School, initiated an arts program in her school district.

Then, in 2004, when she was one of 100 educators nationwide selected to receive The Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award, Goldman put the $25,000 gift to work by bringing students from all over the county together for a beautification project for LOVE's Kitchen, a local soup kitchen.

Currently coordinator of the Artistically Gifted Program for the Lauderdale County School District, with a concentration in visual art, Goldman has written numerous grants to fund arts projects, has directed Dinner Theater productions and found multiple ways to showcase her students' creative endeavors throughout the community.

"Ms. Goldman is rarely satisfied with the status quo, especially when it comes to advancing and promoting arts education," said Linda Dulaney, assistant principal at West Lauderdale Elementary.

"(She) is dedicated – first to her students, then to her profession – and is tireless in her conviction that the arts for all children."

It is this kind of dedication that earned Goldman, along with several other Mississippi educators, recognition from the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE) at the annual MAAE Arts Education Awards Presentation.

Held Thursday at the MSU Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts, the MAAE Arts Education Awards were established in 2000 to honor and recognize significant contributions and service to arts education in Mississippi. The awards program also serves as a celebration of the arts by drawing attention to how the arts are being used as instructional tools to enhance student achievement in Mississippi’s public schools and to increase the quality of life in communities across the state.

The Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education has honored U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran for his record and continued commitment to funding for the arts and arts education through the Thad Cochran Distinguished Arts Educator Awards that bear his name. Sen. Cochran is a valued friend of the arts, not just in Mississippi but in schools and communities of every state in the nation.

Goldman's other artistic endeavors include the "Buddies Art Program," which pairs students in her classes with special needs students in the school to work together on visual art projects. In the spring of each year, their work is showcased at Meridian Museum of Art and students host a reception for parents and the community. She has created partnerships with local businesses and, during Youth Art Month, artwork by her students is displayed at the Meridian Airport, in windows downtown during the "Merry Meridian" Window Display Contest, and in her school.

Recognizing that the arts are fundamental to interdisciplinary learning, Goldman participates in the National Writing Project through the Mississippi Writing Research Initiative and has been instrumental in leading this project in her school's professional development training. She has served on the Committee for Developing Creative Reading Strategies, Committee for Developing a Primary Guide for the Social Studies Framework, and the Committee to Revise the Gifted Curriculum and Instruction Manual for the Mississippi Department of Education and is active as a professional development presenter for schools, colleges and organizations statewide.

Other recipients of the Thad Cochran Distinguished Arts Educator Award for 2009 are Sandra Camphor, theatre teacher at Ocean Springs High School, and John Howell, arts facilitator at Casey Elementary School in Jackson.

Receiving the 2009 School of Excellence Award is Winona Elementary School in Winona.

Other recipients of awards for exemplary commitment and service to arts education for 2009 include: Outstanding Administrator of the Year, Marlynn K. Martin, elementary principal at Madison-Ridgeland Academy in Madison; Higher Education Award, Cynthia A. Newland, chair of dance at Belhaven College in Jackson; and Exemplary Arts Service Award, Perk Players, children’s theatre touring company at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Perkinston.

Dr. Penny Wallin of Meridian, president of the MAAE, said the field of candidates for the 2009 Arts Education Awards were impressive and strong.

"With such fine examples of arts education, the message is clear that Mississippi schools support the arts and utilize arts programs in order to balance the curriculum and enrich the lives of children,” Wallin said.

Keynote speaker was Blake Wilson, president and CEO of the Mississippi Economic Council, who offered words of encouragement about the future of the arts in Mississippi, particularly in education.

"When talking about the future of the arts in education, don't start with the mechanics of how to fund them. Instead, talk about the outcome," Wilson said.