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OHHS Art and Design Teacher, Jamie Schorsch, Named OAEA Art Educator of the Year and Advocate of Honor Award Winner

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Schorsch on her Fulbright international field experience in Varanasi, India.

Art educator Jamie Schorsch recently received remarkable recognition from the Ohio Art Education Association, earning both the Advocate of Honor Award and the Ohio Art Educator of the Year Award, two of the organization’s most distinguished honors.

The Advocate of Honor Award recognizes individuals who expand their impact beyond the classroom by taking on leadership roles in advocacy and community engagement for visual arts education. Recipients actively champion art education outside their daily teaching responsibilities by recruiting others to join advocacy efforts, speaking directly to policymakers on key issues, and contributing to initiatives at the state and/or national level.

The Ohio Art Educator of the Year Award is presented to an educator who exemplifies excellence in teaching, demonstrates a profound impact on students, and shows an ongoing commitment to the advancement of art education. The OAEA Art Educator of the Year Award is the organization’s highest honor, recognizing long-term dedication to both art education and OAEA. Recipients demonstrate a strong, consistent teaching philosophy, leadership in innovative curriculum and methodology, and active involvement in advancing the field through research, writing, and engagement with current issues. They also show leadership beyond the local level at the state or national stage.

For Schorsch, the recognition is both meaningful and humbling. Her journey into teaching was anything but conventional. She did not initially plan to become an art educator, but always sensed that her future would be rooted in the arts. Raised by a single mother who worked tirelessly to support her family, Schorsch attended Walnut Hills High School as a self-described average student before becoming the first in her family to pursue higher education.

Her time at the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP program proved both formative and challenging. Balancing the demands of coursework with employment, she ultimately stepped away during her junior year, uncertain if she would return to college at all. She returned to complete her Bachelors of Fine Arts, with no clear plan for the future. One year after graduation, Schorsch reentered academia through the Master of Arts in Art Education program at DAAP with a full scholarship. Despite facing significant anxiety around public speaking, she discovered that teaching was a natural fit.

More than two decades later, Schorsch has built a career defined by passion, resilience, and a deep belief in the transformative power of art. She views art not only as a discipline, but as a vital tool for expression, reflection, and meaning-making. Throughout her career, Schorsch has remained committed to empowering students to recognize the value of art in their own lives, to use it as a means of processing experiences, communicating ideas, and engaging with the world around them.

This dual recognition from the Ohio Art Education Association stands as a testament not only to her individual accomplishments, but also to the collective community of students, colleagues, and mentors who have shaped and supported her journey.

Schorsch will be recognized for the Advocacy of Honor and Ohio Art Educator of the Year award regionally, at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, on September 4th and at the OAEA State Conference in Cincinnati on November 7th,2026. Recognition of the Ohio Art Educator of the Year award will take place at the National Art Education Association Conference in New York City in March 2027.

OHHS Art and Design Student Advancing to the State Level of Judging for the 2026 Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition!

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This past weekend, the regional level of judging for The Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition, took place. The Exhibition, now in its 56th year, is dedicated to the educational and artistic advancement of our talented young people in the state of Ohio. The exhibition is open to all of Ohio’s 1,112 high schools, both public and private, chartered by the State of Ohio Department of Education. The exhibition is a valuable incentive for our young people; it encourages an appreciation for the arts throughout Ohio and reflects the fine quality of art instruction and talent which exist in our state.

The process of selecting artworks for the state exhibition begins on a regional level. The state is divided into 15 regional locations, with high school students in each region invited to enter work in that regional judging. Each region has a designated Regional Director, who is responsible for choosing the judges for his or her region and arranging specifics of the event. The judging takes place first regionally, and then at the state level, with judges for the competition chosen from all over the country and are generally professional artists, college level instructors, or both.

This year our region # 14, Southwest Ohio, had almost 600 entries and 114 works were selected to move on to the second and final round of judging at the statewide level. Three different judges rated the work on a 0.5 – 10 scale and their scores were averaged together to select the top 20% of works. The Statewide judging will take place next Saturday, March 14th.

Congratulations to Lydia Wilson who had two pieces selected to advance to the state level of judging, and best of luck to her in the next round this upcoming weekend!

OHHS Art and Design Teacher Exhibiting in “Rooms of Grief”

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OHHS Art and Design teacher, Ms. Schorsch, will be one of the artists exhibiting in the Kennedy Heights Art Center’s Rooms of Grief, a powerful and deeply human exhibition running January 17th through March 14th, 2026. Co-curated by Ena Nearon of Ten Talents Network and Mallory Feltz (KHAC), the exhibition brings together 59 artists whose work explores the many forms grief can take and the ways art can help us process, hold, and heal from loss.

Rooms of Grief considers grief not as a single emotion, but as a series of emotional spaces we move through when loss reshapes our world. These “rooms” function as metaphors: places of silence, memory, anger, longing, tenderness, confusion, and, at times, renewal. Together, the artworks reveal grief as layered and personal; experienced through the loss of loved ones, identity, relationships, health, community, and imagined futures. While sorrow is present, so too are transformation and resilience, showing how creativity can give form to what is often unspeakable.

The exhibition highlights the role of art as a healing practice, one that allows grief to be witnessed rather than hidden, shared rather than isolated. For many artists, making the work becomes an act of care, remembrance, and survival; for viewers, it offers recognition, empathy, and permission to feel.

Schorsch will be exhibiting two mixed media pieces in the exhibition. “The Charioteer’s Resurgence” explores grief as both burden and transformation. “The Tempered High Priestess” explores grief as a force that dismantles and reshapes identity. Through mysticism, symbolism, and self-portraiture, Schorsch confronts identity fractured by trauma, allowing grief to guide healing and reveal strength forged through transformation.

Exhibiting artists include:
Patricia Acker, Ebony Alli, Lisa Andrews, Cora Arney-Georgilis, Lauri Ann Aultman, Brooke Cahill, Nina Caporale, Susan Carlson, Ben Casuto, Samuel Casuto, Robert Coates, Heather Conley, Isabella Crowe, Billie Cunningham, June Pfaff Daley, Leslie Lehr Daly, Dan Dickerscheid, Deborah Dixon, Mary Anne Donovan, Judith Effa Ford, Melvin Grier, Nikita Gross, Zephyr Grove, Ell Halim, Kendall Hall, Donna Hardy, Robin Hartmann, Art Hasinski, Jessica Grady Heard, April Huerta, Lindsey Hurst, Ruth Jose, Michael Kearns, Deborah Kovacs-Sturdevant, Cynthia Kukla, Robyn Lince, Lindsay McCarty, Micah Mickles, Carol Mohamed, Amy Mueller, Mia Natas, Zoë Peterson, Kat Rakel-Ferguson, Su Ready, Fatemeh Rezaei, Janet Rocklin, August Roth, Anastasia Schneider, Gerrie Schon, Jamie Schorsch, Zachary Severt, Charlemae Sexton, Kimberly Wilfong Sigman, Emily Sites, Matt Steffen, Shawn P. Sweeney, Megan Taylor, Brianna Wallace.

The exhibition opens with a public reception on Saturday, January 17th from 6–8pm, inviting the community to gather for an evening of art, reflection, and connection. This event is free and open to the public. Additional programming extends the exhibition’s themes beyond the gallery. A Panel Discussion on navigating grief will take place on Saturday, February 7th, 2026 from 1–3pm at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center Lindner Annex (6620 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 45213). This conversation is free and open to the public. A facilitated Art Therapy workshop is also being planned; participation will be free, with registration required due to limited space. Details will be announced soon on KHAC’s website.

The 2025-2026 Memory Project: Creating Portraits of Kindness for Children in Cambodia

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“The Memory Project” is a nonprofit organization that invites art teachers and their students to create portraits for youth around the world who have faced substantial challenges, such as neglect, abuse, loss of parents, and extreme poverty. Over the past ten years, Drawing and Printmaking and NAHS students have created over 500 portraits for children in Madagascar, the Philippines, and Syrian refugees in Jordan, Puerto Rico, the Rohingya in Rakhine, Columbia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, and India. This year, students at OHHS created portraits for 30 Cambodian children.

Children in Cambodia face a complex set of challenges that affect their safety, education, health, and long-term opportunities. Many children grow up in poverty, which limits access to adequate nutrition, clean water, sanitation, healthcare, and stable housing, particularly in rural areas. Malnutrition and preventable illnesses remain common and can have lasting effects on physical and cognitive development. Although education is officially free, hidden costs, the need for children to work to support their families, and uneven school quality often lead to irregular attendance or early dropout, with girls sometimes facing additional barriers due to gender expectations. Child labor, trafficking, and exploitation continue to place vulnerable children at risk, while child protection systems are under-resourced and struggle to respond effectively to abuse and neglect. These challenges are further intensified by climate change, as floods, droughts, and heat affect food security, health, and livelihoods, creating an environment in which many Cambodian children must navigate overlapping social, economic, and environmental pressures as they grow up.

“The Memory Project” portraits are created by students enrolled in the Drawing and Printmaking course (grades 9-12). The students began by analyzing the artwork of Kehinde Wiley and used the information provided about the children’s favorite things, colors, and hopes for the future to design the background of the image. Once the portraits are delivered to the children, we will receive a video of their reactions to the artwork. Below are some of the highlights of the OHHS Drawing and Printmaking students’ resulting portraits.

“Retro Remix”: Honoring the Legacy of OAEA Award-Winning Art and Design Teachers in Oak Hills Local School District

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This year’s Ohio Art Education Association (OAEA) professional development convention embraces the theme “Retro Remix”, a celebration of looking back, reimagining, and building forward. For the Oak Hills Local School District, the theme resonates deeply as we reflect on a proud tradition of art education led by educators whose work has been recognized at the state level. Over the years, multiple Oak Hills art and design teachers have been honored with OAEA awards, reflecting not only individual excellence but also a collective culture that values creativity, innovation, and the transformative power of the arts.

This year, we are proud to honor Mary Sala of Delhi Middle School, who was selected as the Middle Division Award Winner—essentially the Middle School Art Teacher of the Year. Mary is both a gifted educator and a tireless advocate for her students and colleagues. For more than a decade, she has been a driving force in her school and community: organizing district art shows, curating state-level exhibits, and creating opportunities for students to share their voices. Her leadership extends statewide through service as Southwest Co-Regional Director, Co-Chair of Youth Art Month (alongside Rapid Run’s Stacey Battoclette), and now as Southwest Administrative Chair. A frequent OAEA presenter, she also shares her expertise and leads professional development across Ohio.

In the classroom, Mary believes art is more than technique, it is a tool for self-discovery and understanding the world. She creates a dynamic space where students experiment, take risks, and embrace failure as part of growth. Her practices, including standards-based grading and a thriving art club, ensure every student feels included and celebrated. She highlights every child’s work in art shows, collaborates on theatrical productions, and secures grants for experiences such as pottery wheel workshops at Queen City Clay. A lifelong learner, she has earned advanced degrees, exhibited her own artwork, and remained deeply connected to Ohio’s art education community. She is both mentor and facilitator, empowering students to see art not just as a skill, but as a lens for exploring and shaping their world.

Art and design education in Oak Hills has never been about simply teaching technique. It has always been about pushing students to think differently, take risks, and discover their voices through visual expression. Award-winning teachers have consistently elevated classrooms into studios of possibility, where young artists are encouraged to question, connect, and create with purpose. The “Retro Remix” theme reminds us that today’s excellence is built on yesterday’s foundation. Each OAEA award received by an Oak Hills teacher marks a legacy of high standards and dedication to students’ growth as artists and thinkers. Whether through drawing, ceramics, photography, or digital media, Oak Hills teachers have inspired generations to see art as a way of understanding the world and cultivating creativity that extends far beyond the classroom walls.

As we celebrate “Retro Remix”, we honor the achievements of our award-winning educators while looking ahead to the new ideas, media, and perspectives emerging in our classrooms. The Oak Hills tradition is one of excellence and evolution: constantly remixing, reimagining, and reinventing to meet the needs of today’s learners.

Outstanding Art Teachers
Susan Ruttle Lawrence (retired), 1991
Sherry Middendorf Fuller (retired), 1999
Sylvia Dick (retired), 2003
Joni Farrow (retired), 2007
Karen Lutz (retired), 2012
Mary Sala, 2019
Stacey Battoclette, 2020
Jamie Schorsch, 2022
Steve Groh, 2024

Division Level Awards
Sherry Middendorf Fuller (retired), 2014: Elementary Division
Susan Ruttle Lawrence (retired), 1998: Middle Division
Mary Sala: 2025: Middle Division
Jamie Schorsch, 2023: Secondary Division
Susan Ruttle Lawrence (retired), 2018: Higher Education Division
Sylvia Dick (retired), 2022: Higher Education Division

Ohio Art Educator of the Year and Distinguished Fellow
Susan Ruttle Lawrence (retired), 2019