Ames Middle School Art Teacher Cappie Dobyns named 2020 Western Region Middle Level Art Educator Award Winner
The National Art Education Association (NAEA) has named Ames Middle School Art Teacher Cappie Dobyns the 2020 Western Region Middle-Level Art Educator Award winner. This prestigious award, determined through a peer review of nominations, recognizes the exemplary contributions, service, and achievements of an outstanding NAEA member annually at the Regional level within their division. The award will be presented at the NAEA National Convention in Minneapolis, MN, March 26-28, 2020.
This is Dobyns’ third national award, and the second time as NAEA’s Western Region Middle School Art Educator. She noted that one of her greatest accomplishments in Iowa is working collaboratively to build a statewide art competition aligned with the National Core Arts Standards (NCAS) called Emerging Excellence. Dobyns’ students regularly earn the highest accolades in state exhibits and in the Scholastic Art & Writing competition where her young artists’ awards annually outnumber those of all other participating middle schools combined.
NAEA President Thom Knab said, “This award is being given to recognize excellence in professional accomplishment and service by a dedicated art educator. Cappie Dobyns exemplifies the highly qualified art educators active in education today: leaders, teachers, students, scholars, and advocates who give their best to their students and the profession.”
Founded in 1947, the National Art Education Association is the leading professional membership organization exclusively for visual arts educators. Members include elementary, middle, and high school visual arts educators; college and university professors; university students preparing to become art educators; researchers and scholars; teaching artists; administrators and supervisors; and art museum educators—as well as more than 54,000 students who are members of the National Art Honor Society. They have members in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, most Canadian Provinces, U.S. military bases around the world, and 25 foreign countries.
The mission of NAEA is to advance visual arts education to fulfill human potential and promote global understanding.
For more information about the association and its awards program, visit the NAEA website at www.arteducators.org