SHS Teacher Honored for Excellence in Art Education

Simsbury High School (SHS) art teacher Megan Lavoie has been named the Connecticut Art Education Association’s (CAEA’s) 2019 Connecticut Outstanding National Art Honor Society Sponsor or National Junior Art Honor Society Sponsor Art Educator for significant contributions to the field of art education.

CAEA is the state’s largest professional organization representing Connecticut’s visual art and museum educators from all levels. These awards honor exemplary art educators each year. Candidates pass through a peer nomination and selection process that is both highly competitive and rigorous. The National Art Honor Society (NAHS) recognizes high school students who demonstrate an outstanding ability and interest in art and promotes the highest standards in art scholarship, character, and service by bringing art education to the attention of the school and community. NAHS emphasizes scholarship, character, and service. Students must maintain a B+ average in all art classes to retain their membership.

Simsbury High School senior Adele Rossignol, who serves as the current president of the SHS chapter of the National Art Honor Society, was one of three people who nominated Lavoie for the award. In her letter of recommendation, she wrote, “I am proud to be led by such an outstanding humanitarian.”

Rossignol also noted that Lavoie possesses “a commitment for inspiring a student’s passion for both artistic expression and service to [the] community.”

Lavoie has been a high-profile member of the Simsbury Public Schools art community since she began teaching at SHS six years ago, including contributing her talents and leadership as an instructor in the Simsbury Arts Academy (SAA) summer arts enrichment program. She has served as the advisor for the Simsbury Chapter of NAHS for the past six years. During that time, membership of the chapter has more than doubled, and the number of community service projects performed by the organization has increased. A few of the most notable projects have included bake sales for hurricane relief efforts, creating greeting cards for hospitalized children, beautifying the school with collaborative murals, and collecting and assembling bags of hygiene essentials for a local homeless shelter.

Supervisor of Art K-12 Shannon Gagne, who served as Lavoie’s mentor during her first year of teaching, was thrilled for her colleague. Said Gagne, “With her natural teaching style with students and her masterful use of a variety of teaching strategies, Megan is able to create an environment that encourages risk-taking without fear, and she challenges every student to be original, creative, confident, and inquisitive.”

In a letter of congratulations to the Simsbury Public Schools, CÆA Awards Coordinator Dan Rosenthal-Baxter wrote, “We are enthusiastic in our support of these outstanding art educators. Their energy and commitment to the profession benefit all our communities and enriches their students’ lives. On behalf of CAEA, I congratulate Megan Lavoie and your district for their successes in the pursuit of excellence in art education.”

Lavoie’s award will be celebrated at the 2019 CÆA Outstanding Art Educators Annual Awards Dinner on April 28, 2019, at the Country Club of Farmington in Farmington, Connecticut.