St. Mary's Academy Teacher Kathy Mitchell Named Oregon Art Educator of the Year

Using art to educate and inspire students is a winning combination.

St. Mary's Academy

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The Oregon Art Education Association (OAEA) named St. Mary's Academy art teacher and alumna Kathy Mitchell as the 2011 Oregon Art Educator of the Year.

Mitchell will receive her award at the OAEA's fall conference on October 8 at the Portland Art Museum and be nationally recognized at the National Art Education Conference in Seattle in March.

Honored and humbled by the recognition, Mitchell attributes her success to a thriving and supportive fine arts department at St. Mary's where 56% of current students are enrolled in one of 15 art electives including Concert Choir, Music Theory/Composition, Piano Ensemble, Marian Singers, Dance and Theatre, among others.

"Our students are very involved in the arts and know the importance of creativity in their lives," says Patricia Barr, principal. "Kathy establishes a supportive environment that encourages students to risk and challenge themselves to find the artist within."

Mitchell's work at St. Mary's Academy includes being instrumental in influencing St. Mary's students in the freshman visual arts class, establishing and teaching the Advanced Placement (AP) Studio Art class, teaching Calligraphy, Drawing and Photography and advising the Art Club and St. Mary's chapter of the National Art Honor Society.

"The arts can educate and inspire in so many ways, and if I can set the foundation through the classes I teach, then I've accomplished my goal," said Mitchell.

Mitchell begins her 22nd year at St. Mary's this fall, having previously taught at Jesuit High School and St. Ignatius. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education from Marylhurst University and a Master of Arts in Teaching with an art emphasis from Lewis and Clark College.