Washington educator is art teacher of the year

WASHINGTON — The Art Educators of Iowa, a statewide professional organization, have named Lincoln Elementary teacher Jenny Humphreys as art educator of the year.

Washington Middle School art teacher Erin Almelien nominated Humphreys for the award. She said the elementary school educator was a dedicated contributor to AEI.

“She’s always willing to help, and she’s also a leader within the district,” Almelien said. “She leads us in our professional development … and it’s fun to see where things go for her (students) and how that comes up the pipeline.”

Humphreys has taught in Washington for years. She was interested in art from a very young age, and mentored middle school classes on the subject when she was in high school.

“That’s when I really knew I wanted to be a teacher,” she said

After a brief stint teaching in Humboldt, Humphreys and her husband moved back to their hometown, settling down in Columbus Junction. She taught for two years in Muscatine after that, but has spent the last 17 of her career in Washington.

She said she had settled in the district thanks to its friendly staff and the ideal age range of Lincoln students. Those at the third through fifth grade school are young enough to be excited about art, but old enough to do it with some independence.

Independence that allows for variety in their classwork.

“They’re more inclined to do art, they want to make art,” Humphreys said. “They have a lot of imagination, so they get excited about things a lot easier than once you get up to the higher levels … not every kid wants to draw a flower, not every kid wants to draw a robot, so (I’m) just trying to get them to think about how to involve their interest into their art, and I think that’s what keeps kids excited.”

The art teacher said her curriculum was a valuable compliment to the math, science, history and literary skills kids learn at Lincoln.

“We know, 21st century skills that students need to have, problem-solving is a big one,” she said, “Through the arts, we can provide that, and they may not get that in other content areas. They come in, and I expect them to be able to brainstorm, and think about lots of different ways to do things, and then put them together into something new.”

Art class is also an enriching experience, she added, no matter how you slice it.

“They need an outlet, they need a different way to get out of the regular classroom and just be creative,” Humphreys said. “It’s a space that’s more free, it’s more open … they need that opportunity to have a chance to create something.”

As for the recently announced award, Humphreys said it took her by surprise. While she was grateful to be nominated for the elementary-specific art teacher award, she did not expect to win it, much less the one for AEI’s overall educator.

“I told Erin, when she first signed me up for this, ‘I’m not going to get this,’” Humphreys said. “I guess I always thought people had to be more involved in AEI than I’ve been, because I’ve never held an office or anything, but I always attend a conference, I’ve presented at conferences … I was pretty shocked.”

Humphreys said she was more than happen to pitch in to the professional organization. With art curriculum not covered by Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) the nonprofit serves as the de facto provider of subject-specific training, as well as its teachers’ chief advocate in the state.

As the leader of Washington’s art teacher professional development, Humphreys said that service was greatly appreciated.

“Otherwise, you get stagnant in your teaching if you aren’t looking for ways to go beyond,” she said. “If you’re not going to conferences, if you’re not looking for new things, then you would just be continuously doing the same thing, and you won’t have the student interest … we all have things we need to teach, but no one else is going to help us do it if we don’t help ourselves.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com