Dr. Mary Palmer -
In General Sessions, Mary will share the “why” and “how” of integrating the arts throughout your school programs. You’ll see images that emphasize the importance of arts integration for teachers and students both. You’ll experience classroom-tested successful strategies and materials for making excellence a reality in your school.

In Thursday’s Planning Session, led by Mary, you will develop a concrete arts integration plan to create an exciting and dynamic environment for learning in your schools and/or community organization. You will leave the Institute with your success plan for 2008-2009 in hand!

Dr. Mary Palmer

Mary's specialty is arts education for children and youth in both school and community settings. She has served as Professor of Music Education, Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Music Education, and Dean of the College of Education at the University of Central Florida. Since 1985, she has served as senior author of multiple Pre-Kindergarten through grade 8 music textbook series published by Silver Burdett/Scott Foresman; these books are used by teachers and students worldwide. She is the Founder and first Director of Florida’s Arts for a Complete Education/Florida Alliance for Arts Education; this program has been instrumental in developing programs and policies affecting arts education in Florida. She has taught in colleges, universities and PK – 12 schools throughout the United States as well as in England, Italy, Germany, Panama, South Africa, Japan, and Peru. Her extensive travels and teaching experiences are evident in her global perspective. Her many awards include recognition from Florida’s Governor, Legislature, and Department of State for her leadership in Arts Education; ACE of Hearts; Pi Delta Kappa Educator of the Year; Florida Music Educators Hall of Fame; UCF Quill Award. She was named a Fulbright Scholar to research in South America. Mary holds Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in Music Education from the University of Illinois.

Susan Rosoff

Susan has developed numerous interdisciplinary curriculum materials to support Museum collections and exhibitions in her former role as Curator of Education at Orlando Museum of Art. She was the Project Director of “Learning Florida History Through the Murals of Christopher Still,” and “Exploring Uncle Monday and Other Florida Tales” projects coordinated through Florida Department of Education and ACE/FAAE. She is a frequent presenter for both teachers and museum educators. She has received the Briarcliff College Alumnae Award as well as awards from United Arts of Central Florida, the Florida Art Education Association, and the Florida Alliance for Arts Education (ACE/FAAE.)

Dr. Megan Alrutz

Megan Alrutz, UCF assistant professor of theatre, is coordinator of the MFA program in Theatre for Young Audiences at the University of Central Florida and the Orlando Repertory Theatre. She earned a Ph.D. in Theatre (with an emphasis in Theatre for Youth) from Arizona State University, and a B.A. in Theatre from Rutgers University. Her creative and scholarly interests focus on using drama to teach across the curriculum, employing drama and digital storytelling to explore voice and identity, and investigating drama-based pedagogy for the university classroom. Megan is in-demand as a presenter on using drama to teach elementary science and employing multi-media and devising techniques in community based settings with young people, as well as drama workshops for pre-and in-service teachers. She is the director of Artsbridge UCF and editor of ASSITEJ USA's TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences) Today.

Kelli Cummins-Branson

Kelli holds a BFA in Dance and her
Master’s in Interdisciplinary Arts. In 2005, she was appointed by the Florida Secretary of State to serve on the Arts and Education Grant Panel Review Board. Kelli has written numerous educational programs for Voci and was awarded a grant from Arts for a Complete Education for her project integrating language arts, visual arts and dance. She is currently on staff at the Dellecave Institute of NY where she teaches K-5 educators how to incorporate movement into their
classrooms. Kelli also serves as the marketing manager for IBEX Puppetry.

Patty Lanier

Patty Lanier received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Physical Education from the University of Central Florida. She is a member of the UCF College of Education faculty and works with elementary education students as well as physical education students in movement education. Ms. Lanier was the Physical Education Instructor at Keeth Elementary School in Seminole County for twenty years and has taught at Seminole High School as well as Jackson Heights Middle School. She is a frequent conference and workshop presenter and a strong advocate for arts integration.

Suzette Emily Swallow

Suzette is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early and Middle Childhood Music and has taught elementary music in Florida public schools for 25 years. Suzette holds a Bachelor of Music Education with a Certificate of Flute Performance from The Florida State University and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from the University of Central Florida. She has participated in numerous professional trainings including Orff Certification Levels I – IV; Creating Original Opera at The Metropolitan Opera, New York City; and Aesthetics Education at Lincoln Center, NYC. Suzette is a local, state and national workshop presenter. She recently travelled to South Africa where she shared music, movement and storytelling with school children and their communities.

Outstanding subject area teachers will demonstrate interactive lessons that integrate the arts with specific subject areas. Sessions will strengthen your strategies for making the arts an integral part of your total curriculum and will build your arts integration leadership skills. Participants will choose sessions that directly address their classroom needs.

Tabatha Scharlach

Tabatha Scharlach is an assistant professor of reading education at the University of Central Florida where she teaches research based practices and theories in reading education. She has most recently worked with a team of UCF faculty in a joint effort to integrate the ARTS into all methods classes in the elementary education program at UCF. Tabatha*s previous positions have included elementary school teacher,

Title I reading resource teacher, study coordinator for the University of Florida Literacy Initiative, and professional development coach in reading. Her research interests have focused on improving comprehension and metacognition through teacher read aloud and students active engagement with text. She is currently planning research on improving student comprehension through ARTS integration.

Le-Anne Spalding

Lee-Anne Trimble Spalding is on the faculty at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She specializes in the teaching of Language Arts at the elementary level as well as clinical training at the elementary level. In her more recent past, she has written eight nonfiction books for the library market and 10 readers’ theater scripts for use by classroom teachers. Her creative book projects have stimulated students and teachers alike. She works directly with teachers and students in schools to implement innovative strategies for teaching and learning. Lee-Anne is a former Seminole County Public School teacher and Teacher of the Year. She lives in Oviedo, Florida with her husband, Brett and two sons, Graham and Gavin.

Successful teaching artists will share their programs and strategies for arts integration. Sessions will provide guidance for teachers, administrators and teaching artists for building school/community arts partnerships. In addition, sessions specifically designed for teaching artists by Kay Logan will strengthen artists’ abilities to work effectively in school settings.

Kay Logan

Kay Hardesty Logan brings an unusual diversity of experiences to the challenges of educational programming and arts outreach. Her professional involvements have included professional flutist; special education consultant, programmer and Institution administrator; teacher trainer/consultant in special education music; author for Silver Burdett Ginn and professional journals; site visitor/panelist/program evaluator; program design and implementation: Alzheimer and nursing home patients/ deinstitutionalized older adults/developmental expressive arts for profoundly multi-handicapped/language delayed pre-school children.

Current program involvements are the Music at Noon program at Penn State Erie; this is a multi-faceted interactive chamber music series; Chamber Music Connections at the University of Maryland - providing undergraduate chamber ensembles with the information and skill training needed to develop successful presentations for school and community populations; Logan Chamber Music series at Chautauqua Institution.

Ms. Logan has served on the Eastman School of Music Board of Managers, MENC National Advisory Committee, Advisory Committee for the Center for Educational Partnerships in Atlanta, Very Special Arts board, Chamber Music America Board, American String Teachers Association, Chautauqua Institution, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s education committee. She resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

Bob Dolan

Bob Dolan recently joined the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre as Director of Education. He served in a similar capacity for 8 years at Foothills Theatre in Worcester, MA, where he founded the Foothills Theatre School, the Children’s Theatre Company and expanded their Education Department to serve over 9000 school children per year. Prior to Foothills he was the Director of the Conservatory acting program for the Actors Workshop of Boston, and worked with Musical Theatreworks of NYC in the new musical development series. A professional actor for 40 years, his credits range from On and Off-Broadway and National Tours to most of the major Regional Theatres in New England. He is a graduate of Boston College and has trained at Circle-in-the-Square and HB Studios in NYC and as a member of Shakespeare and Company of Lenox, MA.

The Africa proverb “It takes a village to educate just one child” certainly has meaning for arts integration. Our school and community offerings are greatly enhanced when we all work together. Successful community leaders, at the state and local levels, will be on hand to share their programs and experiences during Round Table Discussions at Wednesday’s lunch. Participants may choose to attend a Discussion or to enjoy lunch with colleagues.

Dr. Linda Lovins

Dr. Lovins is an experienced choral and general music educator with degrees from the Crane School of Music, State University College at Potsdam, New York (B.M., M.M.) and The Florida State University School of Music (Ph.D.). She taught public school music from 1980 to 1998 and held a number of district-, county-, and state-level leadership positions. Dr. Lovins developed the music education curriculum for Buffalo State College in New York State. She is Director of Music at Lafayette Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, Florida and has served as Program Director for Arts for a Complete Education/Florida Alliance for Arts Education (ACE/FAAE).

Jane Thompson

With nearly 20 years of non-profit management experience, Jane began her career in development management roles with the United Way of Ottawa-Canada and Heart of Florida United Way. She joined A Gift for Teaching (AGFT) as Director of Development in 2004 and since 2006 has served as President and CEO. The mission of AGFT is to ensure that underprivileged students in the Central Florida community have the basic tools necessary to succeed in school and life. By collecting and distributing the community's surplus supplies and merchandise and distributing them to students in need through its Free Store for teachers, AGFT has provided more than $33 million worth of school supplies to underprivileged children. The School SmARTS Program, provides art supplies and teacher development experiences for sustained, meaningful art education for students in need. A Though the ARTS corner is being established at the Free Store to provide arts materials and supplies for teachers to implement arts integration within their classrooms.

AGFT makes its belief that every child deserves a chance at an equal education a reality through A Gift For Music (AGFM), its program of violin, viola and cello instruction to more than 900 Orange County elementary school students who normally could not afford to be involved in a stringed instrument program.