Amanda Schaeffer, a middle school art teacher at Hilliard City Schools’ Innovative Learning Hub, Hilliard, Ohio has been selected Regional State Board District 7 Teacher of the Year.
Schaeffer holds a Master of Arts plus fifteen in Arts Management from The Ohio State University, a Master of Education in Teacher Leadership from Ashland University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kent State University.
Schaeffer is passionate about using art to create better thinkers, knowers, and doers. For 16 years, she has taught students how to use art and advocacy to feel connected and empowered in their own community. She is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Innovative Environmental Educators, a Martha Holden Jennings/Fund for Teachers Fellow, and currently serves as the State Director of the Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition.
Schaeffer has created messaging and strategies for inspired student and community participation in government, managed public planning efforts, and developed collaborative, innovative programming that connects people. She is a visionary thinker and a talented communicator. Ms. Schaeffer is a national leader in the fields of arts education, community development, and entrepreneurship. She is at the forefront of connecting professionals, student artists and creatives to their communities in new ways that truly raise the value of art and better the world through advocacy and creativity.
Ohio Teacher of the Year Program. Since its inception in 1964, the Ohio Teacher of the Year program annually identifies exceptional teachers statewide celebrating their effective work in and outside the classroom. The mission of the program is to provide opportunities for professional learning to exemplary teachers as leaders and advocates for public education. Selected teachers move through two levels of recognition: (1) the State Board District Teacher of the Year as a regional recognition and (2) the Ohio Teacher of the Year as the state-level recognition.
