Linda Fowler, the art teacher at Maple Grove Elementary School in Dittmer, has been named the Missouri Elementary Art Educator of the Year for 2023.
The Missouri Art Education Association (MAEA) is scheduled to present Fowler with the award at the organization’s spring conference in March.
Fowler, 56, of High Ridge said she plans to attend the conference, which will be held in Springfield.
The Northwest R-1 Board of Education recognized Fowler’s achievement at its Jan. 19 meeting.
Fowler said she was surprised when she received a letter earlier this month informing her she had won the award.
“I knew I had been nominated (by R-1’s Cedar Springs Elementary School art teacher Melanie Robinson). She had told me (about the nomination). Then I got a packet of information you have to fill out, but I was very pleasantly surprised I won,” Fowler said.
Robinson, who previously received the same award, as well as the group’s award for the overall Missouri Art Educator of the Year, said she nominated Fowler because of her experience and dedication to teaching art.
“She’s been teaching for many years, and she has attended many (MAEA) conferences and has presented at conferences. And, she’s been involved with planning art shows at the district for us,” Robinson said.
Another R-1 art teacher, Michelle Howard of House Springs Elementary, also previously received awards from the MAEA.
Maple Grove Principal Aubrey Bauer said she was proud to see Fowler win an award this year.
“Linda does really neat projects with the kids. She always has them engaged in their learning and keeps things exciting in the classroom,” Bauer said, “She represents Maple Grove and the Northwest district really well.”
Fowler is an R-1 alum.
“I went to House Springs Elementary and all through Northwest schools,” she said. “I loved my teacher in elementary school (the late Karen Szydlowski). I went to school to be a commercial artist but decided that wasn’t for me, so I went back to school in my late 20s to teach art. It’s something I’ve always been interested in.”
When Fowler has some spare time, she still dabbles in art.
“I craft, and I sew and paint a little bit,” she said.
As an art teacher, Fowler said she focuses on making sure students feel good about their creations.
“I try to do what I call no-fail projects so every child feels successful. That’s it in a nutshell,” she said. “I try to make it fun for the kids and try to make sure they have something they’re going to be proud of when they’re finished. I try to celebrate their success, and if they mess up, I tell them it’s OK. Sometimes you can make a mess-up really nice.
“I don’t think I do anything other art teachers don’t do.”
Fowler attributes part of her success to the support she gets from colleagues and administrators.
“I really do work with a great group of elementary teachers, including my special area team at Maple Grove. And our high school teachers are wonderful. Our middle school teachers are great,” she said. “Our board and administrative staff are really supportive of the arts, and that makes a big difference.”
Fowler said art teachers at other schools don’t always get that same level of support.
“I’m on teacher blogs, and they don’t get a budget. They don’t get the supplies they need,” she said. “I’ve always been able to say, ‘I’d like to try this with my kids,’ and the administrators are like, ‘OK, try it.’
“They’ve always been good about hanging up artwork and having it put up at the Central Office. It probably helps that we have a board member (Sherri Talbott) who’s a former art teacher.”
Fowler is a member of the MAEA, which she says offers many benefits.
“There’s always conferences, and they’re always sending out information we can use in our classrooms. We have meet-and-greets. We’re in the organization’s District 7 in the state, and we (the district members) get together and swap ideas. I feel like any time if I have an issue or problem, I can reach out and someone will help.”
Fowler, who’s been a teacher since 1996 and been at Maple Grove since 2004, said she’s proud of the award.
“It’s kind of nice after 25 years, and it’s not that I don’t feel appreciated, but when Melanie nominated me, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s so nice. Thank you.’ I thought that’s where it would end. But, it does make you feel like a celebrity. The district put it on Facebook, and we have a bell we ring when we achieve a goal, and I got to ring the bell. It’s very nice, but also humbling. I’m very appreciative of it.”
Fowler said she not only plans to attend the conference but also the National Art Education Association conference in April in San Antonio, Texas.
Before joining the Northwest district, Fowler said she taught at Windsor C-1’s Freer Elementary School in Barnhart and later in the Lonedell R-14 School District.
She and her husband, Curt, have three adult children and two grandchildren – 3-year-old twins.
Fowler said she liked to work on art projects with her children and now she enjoys the same activity with her grandchildren.
“I like working in watercolor. I used to do it a lot, but not much anymore,” she said. “I have a couple of more years until retirement, and after that, I will break out the watercolors again.”