August Art Educator of the Month is Kaycie Peck

My name is Kaycie Peck and I have been teaching 7th grade and 8th grade art at Amherst Middle School and all the art courses at Amherst High School for 6 years. I am also the advisor to the Art Club and the Visual Arts Classic team.  

I grew up in Southeast Wisconsin, graduating from Hartford Union High School in 2008. I attended UW-Madison, graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Art Education in 2012.

My husband and I currently live in Stevens Point with our young son Frederick and our cat Banksy. We enjoy spending time with family, camping, collecting Fiestaware, and watching too much Netflix.

Working in a small community, I continually adapt my courses to always keep the students dedicated. With such diverse talents and motivations in students of a small community, giving students choice and authority over their artwork is key in my classroom. Students in a small community are often dedicated to every available opportunity from sports, clubs, and course choices. The art room can be a place where they can express those avenues of their identity. 

Specifically, I have been designing Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced courses that first teach art techniques, then encourage creative concepts, then allow freedom to work independently in the creative design process. Frustrating as choice and artistic menus can be for my students, it makes them think, plan, and reflect. Whether their journey after high school is a stereotypical artistic one or not, I am confident they have the skills and process to create whatever they might dream.”

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