Visual Arts MTEL Objective Review Committee Members Needed

The Department and the Evaluation Systems Group of Pearson are seeking Massachusetts educators who hold a provisional, initial or professional Dance or Visual Arts license or educator preparation faculty with expertise in these content areas to participate in an upcoming Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) Objective Review Committees.

  • 5/20/25 – Dance Objective Review Committee
  • 5/21/25 – Visual Arts Objective Review Committee

These committees meet in person from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. over the course of one day. The Department is committed to centering the voices of people who have been historically marginalized in public education, and DESE strongly encourages Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and Latino, Asian, other educators of color, and members of other historically marginalized groups to apply.

Interested educators are asked to please complete an application online.

Anyone with questions about this opportunity can email Robyn Kaczowka at evaluationsystemscrg@pearson.com.

April 4, 2025 Melissa Mastrolia 0

YAM Poster Design Contest

Thank you to everyone who submitted work to the YAM Poster/Flag Design Contest.

Congratulations to our Grand Prize Winner

Shu-Ning H., 5th grade artist from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Cambridge, MA. Shu-Ning’s art teacher is Sara Engel.

The winning flag will be hung as part of the NAEA Convention Youth Art Month exhibit in Louisville, KY later this month.

Check out the website to see all the winners and honorable mentions.

March 23, 2025 Melissa Mastrolia 0

Urgent Need – President-elect

The next term for the MAEA Executive Committee position of President-elect started January 1, 2024. This position is a two-year term, that transitions into the role of President, and Past President, which are also two-year terms.

Please submit a letter of intent, resume/CV, short biography (250 word), and head shot for the election process to info@massarted.com asap.

For additional information about responsibilities and descriptions please refer to the MAEA website. Serving in this role includes paid membership for MAEA and NAEA, as MAEA is a state affiliate of NAEA.

March 23, 2025 Melissa Mastrolia 0

Happy Youth Art Month – Ways to Use the Virtual Statewide Exhibit

Happy Youth Art Month! Looking for some ways to incorporate this year’s YAM exhibit into your classroom? So often we use artwork created by professional artists to teach anything from elements of art to inspiration for skill building projects or exemplars, but why not use student work for the same purpose? Read on for some practical ways to share the YAM virtual exhibit with your students:

  • Use student works from the exhibit to highlight technical skills.
  • Use this ready-to-go Scavenger Hunt to focus observation while students peruse the galleries.
  • Have student pairs go on an Elements of Art or Principles of Design “Scavenger Hunt” in the galleries and share their findings.
  • Encourage students to leave an Artist Fan Letter (link attached in each gallery) for the creator of an artwork they especially like.
  • Select a piece to use with Visual Thinking Strategies. Read more about VTS here.
  • Use work from the galleries to play a game of Art Bingo. Check out the Bingo Baker here for some ready made boards. Assign student pairs to different sections of galleries (ex. Slides 1-50 in gallery 3) to search for artworks on their board.

Use any of these free and Ready-to-use focus sheets from Cindy Ingram at the Art Class Curator to help students connect deeply with a piece of self-selected artwork from the galleries.

March 19, 2025 Melissa Mastrolia 0

Hands – On Workshops – Spring 2025

Our PD Committee Chair Margaurita Spear has been working hard to put together more hands-on workshop offerings for this spring.

The April offering has just been finalized! Puppet Palooza on April 12 at 9:00 am on Zoom with Ali Boudreau. 

MAEA and NAEA members can register at a discounted price of $12 for each workshop. Learn more and register here. You can also register now for the May offering, Comics as Reflective Practice on May 10 with Rachel Branham. The June offering will be shared soon!

Each registrant will receive a certificate of attendance upon completion of the individual workshop. If you attend a total of 5 unique workshops (10 hours), you can submit a request for a PDP certificate.

Have an idea for your own hands-on offering? Reach out to Margaurita (pd@massarted.com) or submit a proposal today.

Margaurita is also interested in co-chairing the PD Committee – connect with her today to learn more about how that might work. Or visit our Join the Board page website to learn a bit more about the position.

March 10, 2025 Melissa Mastrolia 0

Hands – On Workshops – Spring 2025

Our PD Committee Chair Margaurita Spear has been working hard to put together some hands-on workshop offerings for this spring.

The February offering has just been finalized! Cerealism: Exploring the Pop Art Style of Artist Michael Albert on February 22 at 9:00 am on Zoom. 

MAEA and NAEA members can register at a discounted price of $12 for each workshop. Learn more and register here. You can also register now for the March and May offerings. Kitchen Lithography on March 9 and Comics as Reflective Practice on May 10.

Each registrant will receive a certificate of attendance upon completion of the individual workshop. If you attend a total of 5 unique workshops (10 hours), you can submit a request for a PDP certificate.

February 17, 2025 Melissa Mastrolia 0

Hands – On Workshops – Spring 2025

Our PD Committee Chair Margaurita Spear has been working hard to put together some hands-on workshop offerings for this spring.

The March and May ones have been finalized and registration is open for Kitchen Lithography on March 8 and Comics As Reflective Practice on May 10.

MAEA and NAEA members can register at a discounted price of $12 for each workshop. Learn more and register here.

Each registrant will receive a certificate of attendance upon completion of the individual workshop. If you attend a total of 5 unique workshops (10 hours), you can submit a request for a PDP certificate.

January 21, 2025 Melissa Mastrolia 0