Outstanding Secondary Art Teacher named

Art Educations of Iowa (AEI) recently announced that Erin Almelien, an art teacher at Pekin has been selected as AEI's Outstanding Secondary Art Teacher for 2014. She was honored at the annual AEI conference on Oct. 10.

Almelien taught art in the Chicago public schools for four years in grades kindergarten through eight and seven through 12. She returned to Iowa and taught in Griswold and now at Pekin.

"Growing up knowing school was not easy for me, I worked hard to make sense of education," Almelien said. "I am a person who had an IEP (individualized educational program) and received extra help, but knew I could excel in thinking and communication verbally and visually. I practiced the creativity of expressing myself in other ways. Knowing that the arts give people a voice that many have not ... in the written word, I am living proof that education can be gained in many ways."