MAEA Art Educator of the Year and MAEA Middle Level Educator of the Year
September L. Buys: Greenville Middle School Art Educator, Greenville Public Schools

September earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art Education in 1999, Cum Laude at Western Michigan University, with a Major in Art Education. In 2004 she earned her Master of Arts in Art Education, Summa Cum Laude at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her research thesis: was “Engaging the Middle School Art Student.”

September has taught 10 years in K- 12 public schools and 3 years as Boys and Girls Club Art Director. She currently teaches in the Greenville Public Schools as a
Greenville Middle School Art Educator.

September has served MAEA in many capacities, to name a few, as Middle level Division Chair, Kids “N” Clay” exhibit coordinator and a presenter at numerous MAEA annual conferences. She also serves as the Middle Level Director for our NAEA Western Region. September continues to serve MAEA, NAEA and her school district and community.

September believes that “students are empowered when engaged in deeper levels of thinking. With the right guidance, good questions and ample tools, students will find and articulate their own passion, their work will be made with care and they will seek new challenges. This, I believe, is the purpose of art education.”

MAEA Secondary Art Educator of the Year
Diane Heath

Diane is an art educator at Rochester’s Stoney Creek High School. She is also the secondary art coordinator for the district. She serves as dual enrollment consultant and adjunct professor for Kendall College of Art and Design. At Oakland University she has worked to develop the Oakland University Summer Art Intensive program. She is currently working with Cranbrook developing the Cranbrook For Art Educators program for continuing education. Diane has also been a presenter at the MAEA conferences covering topics such as Scholastic art portfolios, advanced placement portfolio development and issues of social justice., She has served for ten years on the Southeastern Regional Scholastic art and writing awards advisory board. Over 20 of her students and her son have been recipients of a national scholastic art award.

Diane received her art education degree from Western Michigan University and a degree in secondary counseling from Michigan State University. Her district of over 20 years has recognized her by making her a recipient of the PTSA Founders Day Volunteer Award and the Rochester Schools Excellence in Education Award. She has been selected to attend the School of the Art institute of Chicago’s TICA program and the Ringling College of Arts summer teachers program, Creating in the Conceptual Age. She has also attended the Art at the Center program at the College for Creative Studies. Diane has been an art educator for 25 years.

MAEA Elementary Art educator of the Year
Colleen DeSanto

Colleen is an elementary art educator with the Bay City Public School District. She has also worked as a member of the Bay Area Intermediate School District Fine Arts Content team for three years and was instrumental in creating a K-12 Fine Arts Curriculum which was adopted by the BAISD and Bay City Public Schools. Colleen has served as a board member of the Studio 23 Art Center in Bay City and co-chaired the Bay City YWCA Riverside Art Festival for several years. Colleen has also served the greater community area of Bay City as a committee member for the City’s Downtown Development Authority. This committee played a critical role in establishing “The Children’s Sidewalk Art Project,” an annual art project promoting art among fifth grade students countywide. Colleen has also served the MAEA in many widespread capacities including Region 12 Liaison and she has shared her expertise as a presenter for several conference workshops.

Colleen has continued to set high standards for her students, to which she also holds herself accountable, working to expand her personal repertoire of artistry. She has exhibited work in multiple Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibitions and has competed in many state and local shows, some of which include Best of Show Awards from Saginaw Township State of the Arts, Bay Arts Council Fine Arts Market, Bay City YWCA Riverside Art Festival, and the Left Bank Gallery Area Show. Although free time is not in the vocabulary of artists, Colleen has managed to continue to expand her creative influence through the use of technology. Colleen has not only been involved in the development of a Region 12 Face book page, but she has also designed a 30 page website for children within the Bay City Public Schools website. All of these accomplishments while tending to the every whim of her most cherished creations, her three daughters.

MAEA Art Educator of the Year-Higher Education
William Charland: WMU, Kalamazoo

Dr. William Charland is the Associate Director of the School of Art at Western Michigan University, where he also serves as Assistant Professor of Art and coordinator of the Art Education Program. He holds BFA and MFA degrees from the University of Michigan, and MA and PhD degrees in Education from the University of California, Berkeley.

Bill has served MAEA for many years as Higher Education Division Chair. He proposed, and now oversees, the State Conference Student Sponsorship Award, which helps preservice art educators defray the costs of conference attendance. He is the Director of the MAEA Summer Professional Development Institute, which brings a week of high quality workshops to our members every August. For the Michigan Department of Education, Bill has helped compose the standards for art teacher preparation programs, the most recent iteration of the MTTC test, and the VPAA high school guidelines.

Dr. Charland is a certified teacher-trainer in the technique of Visual Thinking Strategies, and has conducted training sessions for many Michigan school districts. His art work has been featured in exhibitions in Michigan, California, New Mexico, Germany, Australia and Italy. Bill has presented numerous research papers at state and national conferences. His recent scholarly publications include African American Youth and the Artist’s Identity (Studies in Art Education, 2009), Residential Learning Communities and the Professional Development of Art Educators (Art Education, 2008), and The Art Association/Higher Education Partnership: Implementing Residential Professional Development (Arts Education Policy Review, 2006).