Summit XII Distinguished Presenters for 2011
Megan Alrutz [Theatre]Megan Alrutz recently joined the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches courses in applied theatre, theatre for social change, and digital storytelling. Previously, she was on the faculty of the University of Central Florida where she led the MFA program in Theatre for Young Audiences for five years. Her creative and scholarly interests focus on applied theatre and theatre for young audiences – including school-based, arts-integration; applied performance in non-traditional sites; devising and directing theatre and digital storytelling to explore issues of voice and identity; and developing new work that challenges and inspires dialogue. Megan works nationally as a facilitator for professional development in arts education and drama-based pedagogy, and was the founding director of ArtsBridge/UCF and Digital U, two Orlando-based applied arts/media programs for youth. Megan earned her Ph.D. from Arizona State University where she focused on drama-based pedagogy for middle school science education.
Linda Fleetwood [Art]Linda W. Fleetwood is the President-Elect of Texas Art Education Association She serves as the State Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) Jury Foreman, which includes her position as TAEA’s official VASE juror trainer, Region 20W High School VASE Director, and high school art teacher and fine arts chair at John Marshall High School of Northside ISD in San Antonio She was Northside’s High School Educator of the Year for 2007-08. She is also the designer and administrator of TAEA/VASE’s online juror training course. She has 20 years of experience as a professional art educator and art adjudicator. Prior to education, she worked in commercial graphic design as an art director and then as a freelance artist. Her passion is for children to discover their inner creativity and have it encourage and inspire them.
Angela Seward Hayes [Dance]is a 23-year veteran of the teaching profession. A graduate of Texas Christian University, she began her teaching career at Northwest High School in Justin, Texas and then moved to Dulles High School in 1989, where she is still employed as the dance team director of the Dulles Dolls. Over the years, Angela has developed a passion for curriculum development and teacher education. Angela is a frequent presenter at the annual Texas Dance Educators Association Convention. She specializes in workshops that integrate dance history into classroom activities. Holding teaching certifications in Dance, English and Computer Science, Angela enjoys a cross-curricular approach to education. Angela’s personal creative outlet is choreography and she is often called upon to present workshops designed to encourage both students and new teachers to develop their dance experience. She is a past recipient of TDEA’s Director of the Year Award and Lifetime Achievement Award.
Robyn Heyde [Music]Robyn Heyde is currently in her 13th year of teaching. She teaches elementary music at Hughston Elementary School in Plano, Texas and also serves as a cluster leader for the district. She received her degree in music education from Baylor University. She completed her Kodály certification through the University of North Texas. Robyn collaborated with other music teachers in the district to align the music curriculum with grade levels spanning from kindergarten to the senior year and beyond. She also works as the administrative assistant for the Plano Children’s Chorale, the district’s select 5th grade choir. Robyn is an active member of Texas Music Educators Association, Organization of American Kodály Educators, and Kodály Educators of Texas. At her church, she sings in the adult choir and directs the youth choir. She lives in Plano with her daughter, Lauren.
Michelle Huerta [Theatre]holds a BS degree and a MA degree from Texas State University. In her career she has taught all levels – elementary, middle school, high school, and college. For the past 15 years she has been teaching middle school in Austin ISD, currently at Diane Gorzycki Middle School. In 1995 she received the Texas Educational Theatre Association’s New Playwright Award for her original play adaptation, “Juan and the Bony One.” In 1994-1996 she served as the K-8 elementary interest chair for Texas Educational Theatre Association and in 2002 she was nominated for Disney Teacher of the Year.
Kathy Kuddes [Music]
Kathy Kuddes holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois (1983) and a Masters degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas in Denton (1995). She earned her Kodály Teacher Training certification from the University of Texas program at Festival Hill in Round Top (1990) and a Texas Supervisors Certification through UNT (1999).
Kathy is currently the Director of Fine Arts for the Plano Independent School District, Coordinator of the Plano Kodály Teacher Training Program, and lead instructor for the partnership training program with Southern Methodist University. Plano is a district of approximately 55,000 students with trained Kodály Music Specialists in all 44 elementary schools, award-winning band, choir, orchestra, theatre and speech programs for students in grades 6-12, and a top ranked music theory program for high school juniors and seniors. In recent years, she has led a district-wide revision of the music curriculum to focus on a fully integrated vertical approach to musical skill development for students in all program areas.
Before stepping into her current administrative role, Kuddes was an elementary music specialist. Her classroom teaching career of 14 years included positions teaching elementary music, middle school and high school choirs, community pre-school music programs, church choirs, undergraduate music methods courses and graduate Kodály Training. Kathy’s current teaching activities include two levels of Folk Music Research for the Plano Kodály Teacher Training Program @ SMU. In the fall of 2007 she was one of four instructors of a unique Study Abroad course for undergraduate music education students at UNT that included travel to Hungary and study at the Kodály Teacher Training Institute there.
Mrs. Kuddes was recognized in 1993 by the Music Educators National Conference as a Nationally Registered Music Educator and in 1995 as the Outstanding Graduate Student in Music Education by the College of Music at the University of North Texas. Kathy was honored as the Outstanding Administrator for 2010 by the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE). She has served on the boards of the OAKE and the Kodály Educators of Texas. Her biography is contained in the “Who’s Who of American Women,” the “Manchester Who’s Who,” the “Cambridge Who’s Who,” and the “Who’s Who” publication of the International Kodály Society.
Kathy is an active member of Texas Music Educators Association, Music Educators National Conference, Organization of American Kodály Educators, American Orff-Schulwerk Association, International Kodály Society and Texas Music Administrators Conference. She is in demand as a workshop and conference presenter across Texas and beyond, including an invitation to present for the 2003 International Kodály Symposium held in Newcastle, Australia.
In addition to her school work Kathy continues to sing in her local church choir and plays occasionally in a flute ensemble. She is an avid student of American folk music, plays mountain dulcimer and autoharp, and has recently taken up the hammered dulcimer.
She and her husband of twenty-four years, Kent, spend their leisure time traveling and doting on their two dachshunds. Their recent travels have included Britain, South Korea, Japan, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain, Curaçao, St. Lucia and Australia. In 2007 Kent established a named scholarship at Millikin University in Kathy’s name to support a music education student in the pursuit of their degree.
Bobby Malone [Theatre]Bobby Malone is a 2005 graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Studies. Bobby transferred to UT from McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas.
Bobby spent the first five years of his professional career in Keller, Texas, where he taught theater at Central High School. While at CHS, his theater department’s UIL One Act Play advanced to the State Meet two years in a row, placing 1st Runner Up in 2009.
Before he became a teacher, Bobby worked as a professional actor, dancer, and technician across the state of Texas. He performed in Waco Musical Theater’s productions of West Side Story and TAP’N, and as a dancer in the outdoor musical drama TEXAS, in Palo Duro Canyon. He earned several B. Iden Payne Nominations for his work with Second Youth Theater Company, and helped start Gobotrick Theater Company in Austin, Texas.
Bobby is currently working as the theater director at Anderson High School in Austin, Texas.
Samantha Melvin [Art]Samantha Melvin teaches Art at RJ Richey Elementary in Burnet CISD. She serves as the Elementary Division Chair and as Youth Art Month-VP, elect of the Texas Art Education Association. Active in local, regional, state and national art education initiatives, Samantha also served as Western Region Elementary Division Representative for the National Art Education Association for two years, and currently sits on the Purposes, Principles and Standards for School Art Programs Revision Committee and the NAEA Visual Arts as Core (Platform Writing) Committee. In 2009, Samantha received the Power of Art Award from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and the Lab School of Washington and was named TAEA Elementary Art Educator of the Year. A recipient of the PBS Teachers Innovation Award in 2010, she serves as a member of the advisory council for PBS Teachers. In March 2011, Samantha was named Western Region Elementary Art Educator of the Year. She serves as Visual Arts Cadre member for CEDFA, and has presented at CEDFA Summits in 2009, 2010 and 2011. This spring, she was part of the curriculum writing team for TEA’s Project Share Initiative, integrating Visual Arts with Math and Science. You can follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/smelvin or email her at artteaches@hotmail.com
Cynthia Mixon [Music]Cynthia Mixon is currently a band director at Kelly Lane Middle School in Pflugerville,TX. Cynthia graduated from Angelo State University with a Bachelors Degree in Music Education and from Hardin Simmons University with a Masters Degree in Music Performance (flute). Cynthia has been teaching for 18 years 15 of which were at the middle school level. She helped write the Curriculum Bundles for Middle School Scope and Sequence in Pflugerville and was the camp director for the Pflugerville ISD Band Camp for 9 years.
Cynthia performs for various theaters (in the orchestra) including Zach Scott Theater in Austin and The Palace Theater in Georgetown.
In her spare time, Cynthia enjoys running marathons and competing in triathlons including her first Ironman endurance event in 2009. She has been happily married to Chris (the Dell techie) for 18 years.
Kay Payton [Music]Kay Payton holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas, Austin, (2000), and a Masters degree in Educational Leadership from Lamar University, Beaumont, (2010). She earned her Advanced Placement in Music Theory Certificate from Rice University, Houston (2009).
Currently, Ms. Payton is in her second year as Vocal Director at Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville ISD. She also teaches AP Music Theory and is responsible for the school-wide musical. Prior to her assignment at the high school level she taught middle school for nine years in Round Rock and Pflugerville schools. Her classroom teaching experience has also included director of St. Mary’s Cathedral Catholic School and church choirs in all age groups.
Ms. Payton was recognized in 2000 as an Outstanding Undergraduate by the Music Educators National Conference for academic excellence in Student MEC, and in 1998 as the Outstanding Junior Student in Music Education by the College of Music at the University of Texas. Payton also received the Ruth Whitlock Scholarship from Texas Choral Directors Association, (1998). Mrs. Payton was voted “Teacher of the Year” in 2007 by her colleagues at Park Crest Middle School in Pflugerville ISD.
Ms. Payton served on the PISD Curriculum Writing committee for middle school choirs and has written church music curriculum for Lifeway Publishing. She has taught workshops and presented conferences across Texas and twelve other states. She has served as guest conductor at several summer camps in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Lifeway Publishing has published two anthems and three theme songs composed by Ms. Payton.
In addition to her school work, Ms. Payton sings in her local church choir and is the Artistic Director of the Singing Women of Central Texas, a women of faith group sponsored by the Texas Baptists. Kay and her husband Joe have been married for 34 years, have five children. In their spare they enjoy coaching soccer, teaching piano and guitar to their five grandchildren, and creating new music designs for Joe’s screen printing and embroidery company, RockSports.
Dr. Kimbroly Pool [Administration]
Dr. Kimbroly Pool currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction in the Hays Consolidated Independent School District. With a population of over 15,300 students served by 22 campuses, the district excels in academics, athletics and the fine arts. Prior to arriving in Kyle, Texas, Dr. Pool was the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction in Keller ISD and led the efforts of over 200 content area teachers in the curriculum development process. Vertical articulation of knowledge and skills and horizontal coordination across 30 plus campuses allowed the students of Keller ISD to reach levels of achievement that have resulted in continued success for the district. In 2005, under Dr. Pool’s leadership as principal of Highland Park Middle School, HPMS was awarded the United States Department of Education: No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Award. The middle school was consistently named to the Just for the Kids/Texas Business Education Coalition Honor Roll and earned Exemplary accountability ratings during her tenure. Prior to that, she was the principal of Carroll Middle School in the Southlake-Carroll Independent School District. Before becoming an administrator, Dr. Pool taught and coached varsity athletics for ten years with district, area, and regional titles and even a State Championship. Directing One-Act Plays and coaching UIL literary events were highlights of her teaching career.
Dani Pontus [Art]graduated in 2003 with a BFA in Film/Video from the Rhode Island School of Design. In 2006 she graduated from Tufts University with a Masters in Art and Teaching. Prior to teaching in Alief ISD at Elsik High School, she worked as a photographer for six years. She currently works for TAEA as the graphic artist for the STAR Newsletter and as a photographer. As a teacher of digital graphics and photography, she finds great pride in always having the right answer for her students or at least knowing who to ask. Her students win exemplary awards in VASE, Scholastic, Youth Art Month, Cultureshapers, and other competitions. She has been a sponsor for the graduating class of 2008, as well as mentoring teacher for the last two years, and teaches professional development courses in her subject. In her spare time she referees Houston Roller Derby and eats kumquats.
Roxanne Schroeder-arce [Theatre]Roxanne Schroeder-Arce serves as Assistant Professor of Theatre Education at the University of Texas Department of Theatre and Dance. Prior to her current appointment, she was Assistant Professor at Emerson College in Boston. She also served as Assistant Professor at California State University Fresno. Schroeder-Arce received her M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth from the University of Texas at Austin and her B.S. degree and teaching credential from Emerson College. She taught high school theatre in Texas for six years and served as Artistic and Education Director of Teatro Humanidad in Austin for several years. Aside from her teaching, Schroeder-Arce is a director, performer, and playwright. Her bilingual plays have been presented to children and youth in theatres around the United States. Her plays Señora Tortuga, Legend of the Poinsettia, and Sangre de un Angel are published by Anchorage Press Plays, now Dramatic Publishing.
Laurie Snyder [Dance]Laurie Snyder is the dance and physical education teacher at Walsh Middle School in Round Rock ISD. She is the owner of Fancy Feet Dance, which offers summer dance camps for young children in small towns that don’t have dance studios. She holds a bachelor of science in dance management from Oklahoma City University and masters of secondary education from Texas State University. While attending OCU she worked with many founding fathers of tap including Leonard Reed, Donald O’Connor, Jimmy Slydes, and Buster Brown. She also trained daily with world-renowned ballerina Jo Rowan. Upon college graduation, Laurie went to work for Celebrity Cruises onboard the GTS Millennium ship as a dancer, cirque aerialist, and costume mistress for four production shows. After dancing for Celebrity, Laurie moved to Los Angeles where she worked as the head casting coordinator for L.A. Extras, providing extras and small characters for a wide variety of television shows and movies including War of the Worlds and Boston Legal. Laurie and her husband Paul relocated to Austin five years ago. They have two beautiful little girls, Bria, 4, and Summer, 1.
Ed Vara [Administration]
Ed Vara is an educator who has served as a middle school English/Language Arts teacher for eight years, campus administrator for five years and has spent the last 21 years working at the regional service center level. His work at the regional service center level spans work with distance learning, alternative teacher certification, state and federal accountability, core curriculum and student support programs. Mr. Vara holds Bachelors’ and Masters’ Degrees in English from St. Mary’s University. He is currently serving as the Deputy Executive Director for Academic Services at Education Service Center XIII.
Nancy Walkup [Art]is the editor of School Arts Magazine and has been an art specialist at W.S. Ryan Elementary in Denton for the last nine years. Before that, she was Project Coordinator for ten years at the North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts at the University of North Texas. Nancy was named Texas Art Educator of the Year in 1997 and Louisiana Art Educator of the Year in 1991.Nancy is also a contributing author of Explorations in Art, an elementary textbook series by Davis Publications; the co-author of Bridging the Curriculum through Art, published by Crystal Productions; and multicultural curriculum units published by CRIZMAC Art & Cultural Materials; as well as many other publications. Over the course of her career, Nancy has taught art from every grade from kindergarten to university and given numerous presentations at state and national art education conferences, institutes, seminars, and workshops. She is also NAEA Elementary Director Elect and TAEA Elementary Art Educator of the Year, 2010.
