Star City High School art teacher Roger Darren High has been elected to serve as the next president of the Arkansas Art Educators, a statewide organization of art teachers.
High will serve for two years as president-elect before beginning a two-year term as president of the organization. He will then serve two years as past president.
The purpose of the Arkansas Art Educators is to communicate the beliefs of the organization to the organized teaching profession and to the community at large, to strengthen the position of art as a discipline in the schools, and to affect positively the role of art in the global community.
High currently serves as president of the Arkansas Art Educators Presidents’ Foundation, a nonprofit group that provides grants to Arkansas Art Educators members for art-related supplies, projects, and small classroom equipment for the classroom.
Since becoming president of the AAE Presidents’ Foundation High has simplified the grant application process, launched a t-shirt design contest for high school seniors, led the group to their most successful year of fundraising, and increased both the grant amounts and the number of grants that the organization will be able to award this year.
“I look forward to serving on the Arkansas Art Educators Board for the next six years as president-elect, president, and finally as past president,” said High. “I believe that together we will be able to strengthen art education in the state of Arkansas and provide the best possible visual arts instruction for our students.”
In 2017, High was named Secondary Art Educator of the Year by the Arkansas Art Educators at the group’s annual fall conference.
High has served as Arkansas Art Educators News Director since 2016 where he maintains social media accounts for AAE including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and a public AAE News page on Facebook. He previously served as AAE Southeast Regional Director for two years.
High has previously served as local president for the Star City Education Association, the Dermott Education Association, and the Dermott Parent Teacher Association. He has served on several state-level committees for both Arkansas Education Association and the Arkansas Department of Education.
High became an art teacher in 2005 after graduating from the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Art and English with a Writing Concentration teaching K – 12 art for the Dermott School District. He joined the Star City High School faculty in the fall of 2011 where he teaches art classes and serves as advisor for the Star City High School Art Club.
About Arkansas Art Educators
The Arkansas Art Educators is dedicated to the promotion of aesthetic growth performance in art. With these goals, the organization supports art programs, which provide depth and breadth of experiences in art essential to meet the needs, interests, and abilities of varied individuals whom we teach.
The purposes of the AAE are to represent the art teachers of the state of Arkansas; to promote the study of the teaching of art; to help improve the conditions of teaching art; to disseminate information concerning art and art education; to encourage research and experimentation in art education; to organize and conduct conferences, programs and workshops for art educators within the AAE; to publish articles, reports, and surveys; to provide information and support to art educators new to the profession; to provide a system of communications between members of the profession, and to work with others with similar goals.
The Arkansas Art Educators provides art-specific professional development opportunities for art teachers throughout the state. The annual AAE fall conference is a multi-day event that provides both professional development and educator networking.