Online Art Teachers (K-12) served global art education during the 2020-2022 COVID-19 pandemic. This website preserves the good work of this important collaboration of art educators, as does their private Facebook Group, which is where most of the work of this group of 28,000 educators happened. OATK12 may resurface in the future, but for now we applaud the thousands of art educators who joined efforts to help art education survive pandemic teaching.
Welcome to OATK12!
The Online Art Teachers (K-12) Facebook Group was formed on March 11, 2020 as a service project BY art teachers FOR art teachers during the uncertain times of COVID19 pandemic teaching. Our mission was to support art educators, as well as other educators, during an educational crisis. A dedicated team of state, national, and international art education leaders formed during emergency circumstances to guide and lead OATK12 and to ensure that art educators across the United States and world felt supported and connected during pandemic teaching. With 28,000+ members and well over two million interactions, this world-wide collaboration of art educators from more than 120 countries provided a much needed support and thousands upon thousands of resources for teachers. While OATK12 began as a private Facebook group, we also offered private Zoom mentoring sessions for educators during the early pandemic, team leaders often spoke to many school district groups and home school networks and other organizations, and we hosted four virtual conferences, two online exhibitions, and other events. OATK12 also continues to host this website, provides many varied resources, and continues to maintain a Google Folder of resources shared freely by group members during the pandemic. OATK12 was and is a true service project with no monetary transactions of any kind. We are art teachers working collaboratively with other art teachers for the good of art education, during the COVID-19 pandemic and other 2020-2022 world issues, and beyond. As we move beyond the pandemic and as the future unfolds, we now find ourselves focusing on teacher retention and recruitment, as well as the mental health and wellness of teachers and students.
With the pandemic crisis in education lessening, the Facebook Group was permanently archived on July 12, 2022. OATK12 lives on here on this website. The private Facebook Group and the group's Google Drive can still be accessed and used by those who were members when the group archived, yet no new posts, comments, or resources can be uploaded or shared. Links to all of these resources can be found throughout this website.
If you would like to be on an email list to receive information about upcoming conferences and other events, please complete this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfpUPaCxI0woVbYgUCxeOIIEJnJj1WDZU8OAfO2MoOd0_Dhfw/viewform?usp=sf_link
Artwork created by Holly Bess Kincaid and Jess Beach during the COVID-19 pandemic.
OATK12 IN THE NEWS
Jane, Sarah, Danny, Trina, Bob, and Holly Bess reunited for an invigorating and inspiring session at NAEA 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
CONGRATS OAK12!
Dr. Trina Harlow and Bob Reeker were the recipients of the National Art Education Association
Art Education Technology Group's
2021 Community Service Award!
CONGRATULATIONS TO OAT TEAM LEADERS!
•Dr. Sarah Ackermann received the 2024 Art Media Technology Interest Group Outstanding Community Service Award, the 2022 NAEA Gilbert A. Clark & Enid Zimmerman Leadership Advocacy Award recipient, the 2021 Illinois Art Educator Association Educator of Distinction Award, the 2016 Missouri Art Education Association Larry A. Kanter Education Research Award, and is a 2020 School for Leaders graduate.
•Daniel Bryant was the 2021 Teacher of the Year for his school district.
•Dr. Jane Montero received the 2022 NAEA Middle School Art Educator of the Year Award, 2022 Marion Quinn Dix Leadership Award, the 2022 NAEA Art Media Technology Interest Group Award for Outstanding Teaching, the 2021 Michigan Art Education Association Middle Level Teacher of the Year Award, and was a 2019 School for Art Leaders graduate.
•Kate Miller received $10,000 Popsicle™ Grant.
•Bob Reeker received the 2013 NAEA Elementary Art Educator of the Year Award, among numerous other awards.
•Dr. Trina Harlow was the 2022-23 Teacher of the Year for Van Alstyne ISD in Texas, the 2023 and 2020 Emerging Scholar for the Arts in Society Research Network, a graduate of the 2022 School for Art Leaders, recipient of the National Art Education Association's 2021 Gilbert A. Clark and Enid Zimmerman Leadership Advocacy Award, the NAEA Western Region 2021 Higher Education Educator of the Year, the 2015 Kansas Art Education Association Higher Education Educator of the Year, the 2014 Prosper ISD Teacher of the Year and a 2014 Fund for Teachers Fellow, among several other awards.
OATK12 reunion at the 2023 NAEA San Antonio Convention: Bob Reeker, Jane Montero, Dr. Sarah Ackermann, Holly Bess Kincaid, and Dr. Trina Harlow enjoyed hosting an OATK12 San Antonio river boat ride while at the convention , along with other OATK12 educators.
2023 University of Texas Art Education Lecture: Dr. Harlow was one of two featured lecturers at the annual 2023 University of Texas Art Education Lecture Series on "Harnessing Social Media for Educational Significance: Using the OATK12 Model."