Sunday evening, March 27, art teacher Jessica Gazzano, was named the 2023 Kansas Region III Secondary Teacher of the Year! Mrs. Gazzano is the art teacher for grades 6 through 8 at Woodland Spring Middle School. She has 14 years of teaching experience with 9 of those years in the Spring Hill school district. Mrs. Gazzano is also active on the strategic planning and building leadership team, is head cheerleading coach, and sponsors the school’s publications club. Mrs. Gazzano received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education from Kansas State University. She is professionally certified in Art Education PreK-12.

Mrs. Gazzano believes that art is extremely important when developing problem-solving, collaboration, communication and self-expression skills. Her goal as an educator is to offer each student an environment where they feel comfortable taking risks, inspire new ideas, and encourage self expression.

 “I would love for every student who passes through my classroom to have an appreciation for the arts and to find joy in creating. However, my art room teaches more than just drawing, painting, and art appreciation. My classroom prepares students for their future by providing them with hands-on learning opportunities that challenge them to persevere, creatively solve problems, collaborate and receive constructive feedback. I give them a safe place to experiment and discover that problems can have more than one solution.Through practice and projects my students begin to believe that they can tackle any problem; they just have found the approach that works best for them.”

The Kansas Department of Education Teacher of the Year panel will announce the state winner at a virtual banquet held to recognize the eight regional finalists on Saturday, September 4, 2022 in Wichita.