April 1, 2021
Five Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) art teachers were recently recognized by the Maryland Art Education Association (MAEA) as outstanding educators.
The association named three teachers as CCPS Career Art Educators of the Year. They are Kristina Blakeslee of Maurice J. McDonough High School; Christine Chinault of Malcolm Elementary School; and Gayle Kraus of Piccowaxen Middle School.
Christin Downie of the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center and Caroline Metcalfe of Indian Head Elementary School were named CCPS Novice Art Educators of the Year by the MAEA.
Blakeslee has been at McDonough for 10 years where she teaches freshmen through seniors in Art 1, Painting 1 and 2, Ceramics 1 and 2, sculpture, and advanced placement art and design. She also teaches art classes to students in the ACHIEVE program. “I love seeing my high school students apply the skills and concepts they’ve learned to amaze me,” Blakeslee said. “They are all so unique, and it’s exciting to watch them create artworks that I would have never dreamt of.” Art often reflects life, she said. “Our students are growing up in an age where they have access to almost any piece of information in a matter of seconds, so it’s even more vital than ever that we are helping them to think for themselves and make decisions,” Blakeslee said. “When our students create artwork, they are expected to think critically about the choices they are making, and to reflect on them afterward. Art is so engrained in our everyday lives that we often don’t notice it.” Living through and going to class in a pandemic has been a challenge. “Like most teachers, I’ve just really missed my students,” Blakeslee said. “I appreciate the glimpses of their personalities that I get through their artwork and from our conversations in breakout rooms on Zoom.”