Tuesday, March 5, 2019

The Visual and Performing Arts Department (VAPA) of the San Diego Unified School District announces winners of the 2019 VAPA Spotlight Awards


The VAPA Spotlight Awards celebrate some of the many successes happening in the visual and performing arts across our district, at all levels, and in all disciplines.  These awards highlight outcomes that are aligned with the goals of VAPA’s strategic plan, adopted by the Board of Education in 2016.  Awardees were nominated by the district’s VAPA stakeholder community including teachers, parents, community arts partners, administrators, and students.  The winners were selected by a committee that included a teacher and representative from the district's VAPA Advisory Council, a representative from the VAPA Department, and a representative from the VAPA Foundation.  In addition to the awards, the VAPA Foundation will also be sponsoring $250 scholarships to the four student award recipients.

This year’s VAPA Spotlight Award winners are:

·       Artistic Achievement Award
o   Kelly Hatfield, Student, Serra High School
o   Katherine Perrine, Student, La Jolla High School
·       Artistic Growth Award              
o   Erin Cortes, Teacher, Taft Middle School
o   Dr. John Reynolds, Teacher, San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts
·       Artistic Innovation Award
o   Carmen and Kevin Kasner, Parents, Mira Mesa High School
o   Bill McClain, Teacher, Carver Elementary School
o   Reyna Turner, Teacher, Loma Portal Elementary School
·       Creative Community Engagement Award
o   Catalina Valenzuela, Classified Staff, Crown Junior Music Academy
o   Daniel Kriley, Teacher, Mira Mesa High School
o   Jeanne Christensen, Teacher, Mira Mesa High School
o   Matthew Mulvaney, Teacher, Mira Mesa High School
·       Creative Leadership Award
o   Derek Murchison, Principal, Zamorano Fine Arts Academy
o   Aaron Blokker, Teacher, Serra High School
·       Rising Star Award
o   Noah Sanchez, Student, San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts
o   John Riley, Teacher, Crawford High School
o   David Robinson, Student, Crawford High School

Awardees will be recognized at the 2019 VAPA Spotlight Awards Presentation on Wednesday, March 13 at 6:30 pm in the Board Room of the Eugene Brucker Education Center located at 4100 Normal St., San Diego, CA 92103, immediately following the District Art Show opening on the 2nd floor.

For more information, contact:
Visual and Performing Arts Department (VAPA)
Russ Sperling, Director – rsperling@sandi.net
Tim Benson, Program Manager – tbenson@sandi.net