Tag Archives: Performing Arts Teachers

AK performing arts teacher Kelly Rentz named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year

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High school performing arts teacher Kelly Rentz has been named Alaska’s 2025 State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Stetson University

There are many stellar teachers in our nation’s public schools, and every year, one from each state earns Teacher of the Year honors. One of these is Kelly Rentz, a performing arts teacher in Alaska. She has been named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.

Kelly teaches choir, drama, and Advanced Placement Music Theory at Colony High School (CHS) in Palmer, Alaska. She also serves as the Director of her school’s Drama Department; in fact, she has been the Director of Choirs and Drama at the campus since 2018. Furthermore, she founded a chapter of Tri-M, the National Honor Music Society and is the advisor for the National Thespian Society on her campus. She also serves as President of the Board of Directors for Valley Performing Arts in Wasilla, Alaska,.

As if all that were not enough, Kelly has coached color guard for the CHS Marching Band, The Northern Sound. The group has performed in the prestigious Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the 75th Anniversary D-Day Memorial Parade in France, and the 2015 Bands of America Grand Nationals, where the group was awarded the Albert J. Castronova Esprit de Corps Award for “pride, spirit, enthusiasm, friendliness, camaraderie and unity of purpose.”

The honored educator says she encourages her students to involve themselves with the arts in their community. Her students take lead roles in large–scale community productions that she has directed, including Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, and Les Misérables. She says her students often volunteer to perform for charitable events.

Kelly confesses that her goal of becoming a teacher started back when she was still a child. “I loved playing teacher in my mom’s class after school with my friends,” she reveals. “I always knew I would become a teacher, and I always knew it would be music that I taught,” she continued.

Kelly earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music with an emphasis in Vocal Performance from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, in 1989.
 

WY music teacher Collin Binko garners prestigious Milken Educator Award

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Music educator Collin Binko of Jackson, Wyoming, has garnered a prestigious 2025 Milken Educator Award. Photo credit: Cowboy State Daily

In an atmosphere where Fine Arts are often undervalued, there are many educators throughout our country who continuously push forward to teach these courses in their schools. One of them, Collin Binko, teaches music to students of all ages in an entire district in Jackson, Wyoming. His efforts are so appreciated, that he has been named a 2024-2025 Milken Educator.

In addition to his role as the District Fine Arts Coordinator for Teton County Public Schools. Collin also teaches courses in choir, band, orchestra, and guitar at Jackson Hole High School.

A saxophone player, Collin completed his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2013.

According to the Milken Foundation, Collin earned the honor because he uses music to inspire students in a district where a third of the learners are multilingual. He’s credited with transforming the high school Fine Arts programs at both the middle school and the high school level. In fact, he doubled the enrollment in choir courses in each grade until all his classes were full to capacity. He relates music theory to core subjects such as math and reading. Collin produced the middle school’s first musical and included high schoolers who wanted to participate, while creating partnerships between the school and community groups such as the Cathedral Voices Chamber Choir.

Collin is one of only 45 educators nationwide to be honored with a Milken Educator Award this year. These prestigious honors have been described by Teacher Magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching.” In addition to the $25,000 cash prize and public recognition, the award includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 2,700 exemplary teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country whose work strengthens best practices in education. To learn more, click on Milken Educator Awards.

 

NYC dance teacher Veronica Cheeseboro garners Big Apple Award

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High school dance teacher Veronica Cheeseboro has garnered a 20024-2025 Big Apple Award from the New York City Department of Education. Photo credit: The Riverdale Press

I always get excited when I can share the story of an exceptional teacher who has earned accolades for her work with young people in our nation’s public schools. Today I share the story of Veronica Cheeseboro, a high school performing arts teacher from New York City. She has garnered a 2024-2025 Big Apple Award from New York City Department of Education.

Veronica teaches dance at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. She has led the dance program there for six years. During those years, Veronica has worked diligently to partner her dance program with Ailey Arts in Education, Merce Cunningham Trust, and Ballet Hispanico Community Arts Partnership. In addition, Veronica serves as the coach for the school’s Step Team and she advises the campus Dance Club.
In her classroom, Veronica includes curriculum covering wellness for freshmen students. The curriculum covers injury prevention and ways to stretch. Her sophomores learn about nutrition, and her juniors and seniors learn anatomy through a study of kinesiology, learning how the body moves as well as the function of muscles, bones, and ligaments as they support dance moves. 

Veronica has also fulfilled a variety of leadership roles within the dance community. She’s facilitated multiple city-wide professional development workshops in hip hop dance for Rutgers University, Broadway Dance Center, and the Office of Arts & Special Projects sponsored by the NYC Department of Education.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Veronica is an active dancer and choreographer. She has performed as a member of NYC-based Contemporary Dance Company: Modarts Dance Collective as a professional dancer for the past four years.

Veronica earned her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with an Emphasis in Dance at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, in 2016. She attended the prestigious school on an academic scholarship. She earned her Master’s degree in Dance Education with a K-12 certification from Rutgers University in 2018.

To learn more about Veronica Cheeseboro, click on the following link to visit her website.

Musical Theater teacher Brooke Berry-Wolf earns Big Apple Award

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Musical Theater teacher Brooke Berry-Wolf, shown here with students, has been named a recipient of a 2023-2024 Big Apple Award from New York City Public Schools. Photo Credit: Brooke Berry-Wolf

I always enjoy sharing stories about exceptional educators who have earned accolades for their work with young people. One of these is Brooke Berry-Wolf, a Musical Theater teacher from Harlem, New York. She has been named a recipient of a 2023-2024 Big Apple Award from New York City Public Schools.

The Big Apple Awards recognize and celebrate New York City teachers who inspire students to be their best selves; model equitable learning with high expectations for the diverse and dynamic needs of all students; affirm students’ identities, unique gifts, and genius; and enrich their school communities by partnering with families, community members, and community-based organizations.

Brooke teaches at Talent Unlimited High School (TUHS), a small performing arts public school. Admission is by audition and review of academic records. TUHS is widely recognized for its successful preparation of artistic, academically-proficient community of college-ready students.

In her classes, Berry-Wolf’s students complete a rigorous four-year curriculum of vocal, acting, and dance classes with an emphasis on acting through song and dance. Musical Theatre majors are provided the opportunity to perform each year. The degree of student input and choice increases each year and by their senior year, students will write, direct, choreograph, produce, and perform in a Senior Showcase performance.

Brooke helped to start Cake Productions, a female-founded off-off Broadway theatre company. Once the company was off the ground, she went on to produce, direct, and perform in numerous productions, including an annual presentation of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

While living in Colorado, Brooke earned her Bachelor’s degree in Musical Theater with an emphasis in Voice at the University of Northern Colorado. She earned her Master’s degree in teaching win New York City. She has taught at Talent Unlimited HIgh School since 2015.

Texas teacher earns 2024 National High School Musical Theatre Award

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It is always my pleasure to shine a spotlight on an exceptional teacher who has earned accolades for his work with young people. Today, I highlight Paul Fillingim, an artistic director at Reagan High School in San Antonio, Texas. He is one of two teachers in the country who has been honored with the 2024 Inspiring Teacher Award from the Jimmy Awards. The Jimmy Awards, also known as The National High School Musical Theatre Awards, is known for showcasing the best talent that the country has to offer.

To learn more about Paul Fillingim, view this four-minute YouTube video below: