Bryant District Teacher of the Year nurtures creative side
Bryant District Teacher of the Year nurtures creative side
BRYANT — All children are born with the ability to create, and it is the job of educators to nurture that belief, said Lindsay Fell, an art teacher at Parkway Elementary School in Bryant.
“In the classroom, we explore the creative process and work with a variety of art materials,” she said. “We explore art history and how that ties to what they are doing in literacy, math and science. We help them make those connections and empower them as creators and help them find that confidence in flexing their creative muscles.”
Fell has spent 13 years in education, but this past year was her first year as an art teacher, although she said she has always included art mediums in her lesson plans.
“I was using an art-integrated approach through art,” Fell said. “I would bring this learning to life in all subject areas, and I thought, ‘Why not just teach art all the time?’
“I feel like the art room is the creativity center of a school, and creativity is so important for our students because they are going to be the creators of the jobs of the future and the technology of the future. Flexing their creative muscles is such a vital part of a well-rounded education, and in the art room, that’s what I get to do.”
Fell was recently named the Bryant School District Teacher of the Year.
“As a teacher, we are used to pouring into our community with everything in us,” she said. “That’s what we are used to doing. We are not used to praise or recognition, so it feels very foreign to sort of have recognition like that.”
In a statement, Bryant School District Superintendent Karen Walters said Fell is “a fearless leader in education and a great role model and mentor for other educators.”
“She has used technology to transform teaching and learning,” Walters said. “Her ability to use a combination of art and technology to make learning personal for each of her students shows her commitment to her success.
“She is always putting in hours above and beyond for her own personal and professional growth, as is evident by her Distinguished Apple Educator designation, an honor given to only 500 educators worldwide every two years. We are proud to have her represent our excellent staff as Bryant’s Teacher of the Year.”
Fell she was surprised to earn the District Teacher of the Year honor.
“I’m very much surprised, and it was unexpected,” she said. “This was a year of learning for me and definitely not what I was expecting.”
Fell is originally from Pine Bluff, having graduated from Watson Chapel High School in 2001. She earned s bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, graduating in 2005. She is pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership, also at HSU. Prior to being hired as the art teacher at Parkway Elementary, Fell spent six years as
a teacher at Salem Elementary School, also part of the Bryant School District.
“It was a wonderful place, and it was a very hard decision to leave Salem to come here. I would not have done if it wasn’t to move to the art room,” Fell said.
“There is only one art teacher per building in elementary, and those jobs are very few and far between, and honestly, I didn’t expect to get this job,” she said. “I took a very nontraditional route to the art room. … My path to the art room was a very different road than what most teachers take, and even just getting this job felt like a huge blessing and a huge surprise.
“I was very excited to be in this room, to have this opportunity and to explore the possibilities of this school within this community of kids.”
Candice Richardson worked with Fell at Salem Elementary School, where they taught first grade together and have since become good friends.
“Lindsay was multisensory in her approach and always integrated an art aspect into so many of her lessons. Even when we were planning lessons, she would give me so many great ideas,” Richardson said.
“I remember one lesson in particular. We were trying to get the kids to give more details in their writing,” she said. “Lindsay would have them take a small moment in a story, draw it and add all these details into the drawing, then use that drawing to pull their writing from. We got some of the best writing from the kids with that idea.
“Lindsay always takes it to the next level. She would really have them experience things and help them understand it on a different level. She is always thinking about new ways to do things.”
Michele Lewis, the principal at Parkway Elementary School, said that when Fell came in for her initial interview, she was full of passion and full of energy and “was really motivated.”
“I think it speaks volumes for Lindsay that she was selected for the award from a brand-new school in its first year. … She encompasses what an outstanding teacher needs to be, and she has gone above to incorporate art and technology,” Lewis said.
She said Fell is involved in the school in many ways outside of her classroom, including Think Tech Thursday, during which she leads professional development for other art teachers, leading the student News Crew and organizing the art show.
“Students adore her class, and she has great patience to work with students of all backgrounds and ability levels,” Lewis said. “She designs developmentally appropriate art activities for each age group and uses a variety of mediums to expose students to all different types of art, not just pencil, paper and paint.”
Lewis said Fell encompasses everything an outstanding teacher should be every day, incorporating technology into her art classes in “such an amazing way that even kindergartners can do it.”
“She creates engaging lessons that capture all of her students’ attention, regardless of their different cultural backgrounds,” Lewis said. “My students love going to art class. They look forward to seeing Mrs. Fell every week and are absolutely devastated when they miss art class.”
Fell said she has always wanted to be a teacher. She said she doesn’t have any teachers in her family, but she did have some inspirational teachers when she was in elementary school.
“I grew up teaching my stuffed animals how to bake cupcakes in my kitchen, or taking them out to my playhouse in the backyard, and I would teach them my math lesson for the day from school,” Fell said. “Teaching has always been my path, I think. … Being a teacher is such a powerful way to leave a positive imprint in the world and to make a difference and sort of work toward creating a better world. It is a big job, and it is an important one.”
In the fall, Richardson will join Fell as a teacher at Parkway Elementary School. “My daughter, Jaycee, has Lindsay as an art teacher, and Jaycee has never been interested in art,” Richardson said. “But now, she has sketchbooks, and she has become so motivated on her own, wanting to make pieces of art and decorate using different medias, using things she was never interested in before, and a lot of that is Lindsay’s influence.
“Lindsay is really good at getting the students where they are at and figuring out what makes them tick. She gives them the tools and lets them make it their own, and I love that.”
Being a teacher is such a powerful way to leave a positive imprint in the world and to make a difference and sort of work toward creating a better world. It is a big job, and it is an important one.”
Lindsay Fell BRYANT SCHOOL DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR