Lakeland Village School Turns Art Heads

Three second-grade teachers at Lakeland Village School have been honored by the California Art Education Association for their commitment to the campus’s arts program.

Monique Poldberg, Kristine Hansen and Beth Pettit are receiving the Association’s Exemplary Program Award for 2012.

The state award recognizes an individual or school program that “effectively incorporates the Visual Arts Standards and is [an] Exemplary example for their peers,” according to Kathleen Crocetti, a California Art Education Association council member.

“These deserving teachers have a tradition of blending learning with the arts by nurturing a student’s creative and aesthetic senses -- just one more reason why Lakeland Village students thrive,” said Lake Elsinore Unified School District spokesman Mark Dennis.

The three honored Lakeland Village School teachers “have created a strong visual arts program,” Crocetti said. "Their professionalism is greatly appreciated and admired and we feel that they have set an outstanding example in the profession through the development of a strong, rich, and exemplary art education program."

The California Art Education Association is a professional art education organization. It is composed of K-12 classroom teachers, junior college and university professors, administrators, art specialists, retired teachers and individuals interested in the visual arts throughout California. It is the largest professional visual arts organization in the state, according to Crocetti.

Poldberg, Hansen and Pettit will be presented with their award during the CAEA Conference, Nov. 12, at the Mission Inn in Riverside.