One of California's top honors in the arts education field has been awarded to a member of the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) staff. Maureen Gemma, SCOE's Art Education Projects Coordinator, was named "Outstanding Visual Art Educator/Supervisor-Administrator" by the California Art Education Association for the year 2006. The award was announced October 29, 2006, by the CAEA at its state conference in Fresno.
Gemma was cited by CAEA as an "outstanding example in the profession in helping to further visual arts education" and lauded for demonstrating "the highest level of professionalism in the field of art education."
In recognition of Gemma's achievement, the Sacramento County Board of Education presented her with a County Board of Education Commendation at its October 25 meeting.
"Maureen's contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education, to the arts education effort and to the community have made a significant and enduring impact on the lives of students, and are greatly appreciated," said Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David W. Gordon.
As SCOE's Art Education Projects Coordinator since 2002, Maureen Gemma established a county-wide Arts Espirit de Corps network for educational leaders committed to supporting arts education and is currently completing work on a three-year Federal Art in Education Model Development and Dissemination Grant to integrate dance, music, theatre and visual arts into the elementary curriculum.
An education veteran with more than 20-years of experience, Gemma has contributed to numerous arts education efforts, such as the 2001 state-adopted Visual and Performing Arts Standards for California Schools, the Model Arts Program (MAP) network, the California Arts Assessment Network (CAAN), the County Arts Leads Network, and the California State Artswork Grants Program.
She currently serves as Lead for the Capital Service Region's newly created Arts Education Subcommittee of the Curriculum and Instruction Steering Committee (CISC), which is in the process of developing a county-wide infrastructure to promote communication and support for arts education in schools.
CAEA is a professional organization dedicated to the advancement of art education in California.