Title: Visual Arts Teacher
Company: Bloomington High School North
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
Diane Davis-Deckard, Visual Arts Teacher at Bloomington High School North, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in arts education.
Following obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in fine arts in 1973 from Indiana University, Ms. Davis-Deckard later continued her education with a Master of Science in art education in 1985 from the same school. Over the course of nearly four decades, she has flourished as an art teacher in Indiana.
Ms. Davis-Deckard provided superior art education with Lakeview Elementary School in Bloomington from 1980 to 1981; Spencer Elementary and Gosport Elementary from 1981 to 1983; Poston Road Elementary School, North Elementary School and Centerton Elementary School from 1983 to 1984; Clear Creek Elementary School in Bloomington from 1984 to 1985; Batchelor Middle School in Bloomington from 1984 to 1989; Grandview Elementary School in Bloomington in 1991. Ms. Davis-Deckard’s lengthiest tenures as an art teacher came with Broadview Elementary School in Bloomington from 1984 to 2000 and from 1992 to 2018 as a Visual Arts teacher with Bloomington High School North.
Keenly interested in community affairs, Ms. Davis-Deckard has served as fundraising coordinator with Bloomington High School North; excelled as coordinator for Bloomington’s Evening of the Arts from 1995 through 2018; spearheaded Jiffy Treat Mural Project, Bloomington Hospital Landscape Painting Project, the 100th Anniversary Celebration of Bloomington Hospital and the Stuff-a-Bus Poster Project at Bloomington’s First Presbyterian Church.
An enthusiastic and prolific muralist in Bloomington, Ms. Davis-Deckard has painted department crests for Bloomington High School North; Dew Drop Hoosier Hills “Restaurant” landscape wall paintings; a cougar-themed mural; painted newspaper boxes for the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and the Herald Times; a Kroger Supermarket painted window mural; a parking garage mural for Bloomington Hospital; and a sea life mural for the Special Education Department.
Among Ms. Davis-Deckard’s many accolades during her decades as an art teacher are the MCCSC Star of Excellence Award for Outstanding Service and Dedication, Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Recognition, Brown County Art Gallery Indiana Heritage Arts Teacher of the Year Award, and recognition as Educational Leader and Mentor by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council.
To remain aware of changes and advancements in art education, Ms. David-Deckard has maintained affiliation with the Indiana Retired Teachers Association, Bloomington High School North National Art Honor Society Chapter, Monroe County Education Association, Indiana State Teachers Association, Monroe County Art Teachers and National Art Education.
Ms. Davis-Deckard’s father was a world-famous trumpet teacher. Part of his success was due to his intense love of work, and he was always encouraging her and her brothers to engage in activities instead of sitting around. Because of that, she inherited an incredible energy. While attending elementary school, she participated in ballet lessons, piano lessons and Saturday art classes, all of which engendered her love of art.
The highlight of Ms. Davis-Deckard’s career was developing a program with Bloomington High School North for a full-time drawing and painting teacher. When she first began the program, her students could sign up for drawing or working with ceramics, stained-glass or jewelry. In addition, she and the staff created an art club, part of whose activities included visits to museums in Indianapolis. She also entered their work in every possible art contest and her classes were frequent winners. Ms. Davis-Deckard believes that 90 percent of having a successful program and gaining scholarships for students involves getting their work seen by people who can make a difference. As her students entered more and more contests, she was able to see what kind of work was winning and what she needed to do to help them gain proficiency.
Now retired from the classroom, Ms. Davis-Deckard recalls that In the last 10 years of her teaching, she took care of her elderly parents and took them to dinner every night. 12 of her father’s students offered to help by ordering a restaurant meal online, which they delivered to her parents’ house every Wednesday for six years. Her father wanted to repay them, but she said he didn’t have to. Instead, she proposed to create a painting for each of them. She remembered that when her father was teaching, he took all his students out to a picnic place called Yellow Wood Lake and decided she would create an individualized painting of the lake for each student. She then photographed the lake and is in the process of creating 12 paintings based on the photo, of which she has completed all but three.
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