WRENSHALL NEWS: Teacher earns state award

Wrenshall teacher Molly Kidd has been honored with the K-12 Art Educator of the Year award by Art Educators of Minnesota. The veteran teacher was nominated by Wrenshall's speech language pathologist, Theresa O'Gara, after O'Gara saw time and again how Kidd presented engaging, creative lessons and then let her students fly.

Kidd said she is dedicated to the growth of her students as artists and critics of the world, and she has spent years crafting her lessons so they build upon each other year after year. She and other teachers at small schools all over the country are uniquely situated in that they have the pleasure of teaching grades K-12 and seeing their students progress academically and developmentally over the years.

Kidd said she has had "the great honor of seeing my students grow not only in their artistic abilities, but how they experience and see the world around them." One of her greatest pleasures as a K-12 educator is when older students act as mentors and role models for Wrenshall's younger students.

When asked what she feels is the most fulfilling part of her job, she related the following story: "A few years ago I had students from my high school ceramics class come in my room to get some extra time on the potter's wheel while I had kindergarten or first-graders in for their class. While we were cleaning up, I turned around to see the little kids had surrounded the big kids so enamored by the wheel and what they were making. That moment of seeing them all together so interested and excited was very special. I love that my classroom allows for those moments to happen."

Teaching at a small school has its disadvantages but it also opens the door to many unique opportunities that larger schools cannot provide, Kidd said. She has taught at Wrenshall for 12 years.

This Wrenshall school news was written by teacher Ellie Swanson and her journalism class.