WS/FCS teacher and superintendent receive state recognition for art education

A Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools elementary school teacher has been named "Art Educator of the Year" by the North Carolina Art Education Association.

The award winner, Frann Paige, is an art specialist at Clemmons Elementary School. Paige was recognized in the NCAEA’s elementary category, but also as the overall art educator of the year. 

WS/FCS Lead Art Director Penny Freeland celebrated Paige during a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.  

“She seeks very creative ways to engage her students in learning and creating. She is a very gifted and talented artist in her own right, and even sold works of art at this year’s conference," Freeland said. "So she does phenomenal things along with being a phenomenal arts educator.”

The school district was also represented in another category, with a “Friends of the Arts” award going to WS/FCS Superintendent Tricia McManus. 

Freeland says that’s because last school year, McManus launched a superintendent's art gallery. She had student artwork hung throughout the district’s administrative buildings, and held a reception for the artists, their families, and their teachers. 

“And those children felt very special that evening, and my teachers felt very appreciated and validated, and there's just no amount of money that can be stamped on that one," Freeland said. "You can't make that up. It was awesome.”

The North Carolina Art Education Association gives out awards to educators supporting the visual arts in the state every year. 

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.