Elementary art educator Jonathan Juravich named the 2018 Ohio State Teacher of the Year.

Jonathan Juravich has garnered the 2018 Ohio State Teacher of the Year award. Jonathan teaches elementary art at Liberty Tree Elementary in the Olentangy Local School District located in Powell, Ohio. Jonathan has invested 12 years in the teaching profession.

Jonathan earned his Bachelor’s degree in Art Education from Otterbein University in 2005, and his Master’s degree in Art Education from the Art Academy of Cincinnati in 2011. He has spent his entire 12-year career as an elementary at teacher at Powell’s Liberty Tree Elementary School. During those years, he also coached cross country and track at Hyatts Middle School, served as an adjunct professor at Otterbein, and worked as an art program consultant for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. In addition, Jonathan is recognized as a leader in the Ohio Art Education Association.

Over the course of his career, Jonathan has earned many accolades. He was named the Ohio Central Region Outstanding Art Teacher in 2014, and he was given the Otterbein University Community Engagement Award in 2013. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Central Ohio selected him Man of the Year in 2012, and the Art Academy of Cincinnati gave him their Peace and Justice Award in 2011.

Art teacher Jonathan Juravich works with his students at Liberty Tree Elementary School.

School

And then he was named the 2018 Ohio State Teacher of the Year. He’s humble about the praise, though. “There are moments in our every day where we have the opportunity to quietly shine, and I hope you take it,” remarks Jonathan. “Don’t wait for a giant role and the pride that accompanies it, but instead leap forward and show the world what you are made of: respect, empathy, awareness, perseverance, and above all kindness.”