Elbridge Gale’s Nicole Crane Named Florida’s Outstanding Art Educator Of The Year Teaching Art
The old adage goes, “Choose a career you love, and you will never work a day in your life.” That’s what Dr. Nicole Crane, art teacher at Elbridge Gale Elementary School in Wellington, has done, and she has enjoyed every day of her vocation.
The award-winning teacher recently garnered her latest acknowledgment, the Florida Outstanding Art Educator of the Year award.
Crane has been teaching for 23 years, the last 14 at her current post.
“I have been at Elbridge Gale since the school opened in 2006,” said Crane, who added how satisfying it is to work with all the students from kindergarten through fifth grade.
Elbridge Gale Principal Gail Pasterczyk is extremely proud of Crane and her accomplishments.
“I try to hire the best as an administrator, and this is verification that Crane is indeed a superstar, and she continues to choose to teach and make an impact on children’s lives,” Pasterczyk said. “She believes so much in art that she wants to instill the love of it at an early age when she can make a difference in students’ lives.”
Pasterczyk still recalls when she first met Crane so many years ago.
“When I interviewed her for the job, I pointed out her impressive qualifications and that she has a PhD, and the pages of accolades and awards on her curriculum vitae, and she said, ‘To be honest, I’ve been offered other jobs such as the curator of a museum, but that’s not where my heart is. I like educating students and showing them options for the future. That is what’s important to me,’” Pasterczyk remembered.
The Outstanding Art Educator of the Year award is presented annually by the Florida Art Education Association (FAEA), which is a nonprofit organization of some 700 members dedicated to ensuring the highest quality visual art education instruction possible to all students in Florida. Crane is a past president of the organization.
Crane explained the award process. “A teacher is nominated by a peer, then a committee including past winners provides a blind assessment to make the determination of the winner,” she said, adding that all art teachers in Florida are eligible for the award.
Crane’s education and activities are extensive. She earned her bachelor’s degree in photography from Virginia Intermont College, followed by her master’s degree and doctorate in art from Florida State University. She has a program evaluation certification, is certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, is a national STEM-certified instructor and is clinical educator certified. She is also an adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University and an elementary art instructor, responsible for instruction of art education for classroom teachers, including the arts-integrated curriculum.
“The best part is working with kindergarten through fifth-grade students,” Crane said. “Because I teach art, I come into contact with all the students in the school, and I get to meet and teach siblings, and I have even had a student where I taught her father my first year when he was a fifth grader. I enjoy the interacting with and knowing the students.”
Typical art instruction for elementary school students includes a variety of mixed media projects. “Because I am a STEM teacher, science is incorporated into the projects,” Crane said.
These projects include drawing, sculpture, sewing, photography, painting and more.
“We try to have each project use a different media and material,” said Crane, who added that some of the older students are working with 3-D printing. “We try to expose all the students to a variety of art mediums.”
Many who remember back to their own days in elementary school art classes might still be wondering what makes an “A” project and why another would be marked a “D.”
“I grade on the process versus the product,” Crane said.
She explained that it involves the thinking, the creativity, the collaboration and originality, as opposed to being product oriented. She pointed out that it is important to expose students to different opportunities for activities and even careers for the future.
Pasterczyk stressed the significance of Crane’s most recent award.
“This is not her first award. Many of them are national, and she came from Sarasota, where she was Sarasota’s Teacher of the Year for the whole district, and she was a finalist here [in Palm Beach County] as well. She has a multitude of incredible accomplishments, and it is important the way she shows students there are multiple careers and opportunities available for all kinds of students,” Pasterczyk said. “On a personal level, my daughter was not the academic kind of student. She was the artist, and it’s near and dear to my heart because I believe so strongly in art education, that we provide a well-rounded educational environment for children, and I am glad that [Crane] is being recognized for her outstanding achievement.”
