South El Monte High School teacher Jennifer Nelson clutches the Bravo Award she received from the Los Angeles County Music Center Education Division last week. With her is South El Monte High School Principal Edward Zuniga.
Story Created:
Mar 11, 2010 at 1:09 PM PST
Story Updated:
Mar 11, 2010 at 1:09 PM PST
South El Monte High School instructor Jennifer Nelson was one of four instructors to receive a Bravo Award in the arts specialist category in ceremonies last week at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
The award, which was established by the Music Center Education Division in 1982, “honors teachers and schools for exemplary education in the arts and showcases the hard work and dedication these educators have given to their students, their profession and their communities.”
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be a Bravo recipient,” Nelson said. “Literally thousands of teachers have been nominated over the last 28 years, but only 41 have had the distinction of being a recipient of the award in the arts specialist category and to be one of them is an extraordinary honor.”
Nelson also has the distinction of being the first stagecraft teacher honored.
Under Nelson’s direction, South El Monte High School was awarded a Golden Bell Award last December from the California School Boards Association for its Theatre Arts and Design Academy, a pre-professional and college preparatory program enabling students to turn passions and talents for acting into successful careers.
The goal of the program is to increase entry into college and enable students to establish careers in the entertainment industry, theater arts and backstage careers. South El Monte High School has the only high school theater program in Southern California with a technical theater emphasis and the first with an A-G honors course in stagecraft entertainment.
“With the economic situation as dire as it is, it’s easy to lose sight of the importance of art education,” Nelson said. “Employment puts food on the table, but art nourishes the soul. Through career technical education in the arts, we can give students both.”
According to Nelson, many of the graduates of her program are “students that had given up on the hope of success and were on the verge of dropping out of school,” before going on to enjoy high-paying careers in the arts.
“In discovering art, students discover themselves,” Nelson said. “I’m very lucky to be part of a school district where arts education is seen as the necessity we know it to be.”
“Ms. Nelson’s talent, work ethic and commitment to her students are exemplary,” El Monte Union High School District Superintendent Nick Salerno. “She is a great teacher who makes a tremendous difference in the lives of our students.”
“When I was hired by the El Monte Union High School District, I brought with me a vision of what theater arts education could be if we dreamed big enough,” Nelson said. “Countless people have supported and shaped that vision into the reality of a unique, exceptional program where students find not only a rewarding career path, but a voice with which to express themselves, eyes through which to see the beauty of the human experience, and hands to shape the world.”
RSS Feeds 
