Commack art teacher one of top 10 in state

When Carolann Lally talks about being an elementary school art teacher, she sometimes feels like she has to defend herself against people who think her job is to teach students not to eat glue.

At the North Ridge and Indian Hollow primary schools in Commack, however, Lally teaches her students about classic and contemporary artists and how to mimic their techniques. Her favorite part of the experience, she said, is seeing how the students will interpret what they’ve learned.

“You never know what you’re going to get,” she said. “You can present them with an artist and all this information, never really knowing what it’s going to be. They just never cease to amaze me.”

Lally is far from having to defend her work. Instead, she’s one of 10 teachers chosen by the New York State Art Teachers Association as a 2010 Regional Educator of the Year. The association will choose one of the 10 regional recipients as State Educator of the Year, which will be presented at the annual conference later this month.

Terry Crowningshield, awards and honors chair for NYSATA, said Lally was chosen for her ability to further the field of art in and out of the classroom. Lally continually enters student artwork in local, county and state art shows. She is also an adjudicator for NYSATA’s Portfolio Project, which promotes the authentic assessment of student artwork statewide.

“Her dedication and vision have set her apart from her peers,” Crowningshield said in a statement.

Lally said she began working for the Commack School District 10 years ago - the most recent career choice in a long line of artistic endeavors. Lally first earned bachelor’s degree in elementary art education, but when she couldn't find a job, she turned to other options. She was a pre-school teacher; an art and recreational therapist, a professional sign painter and a computer graphics professor at Briarcliffe College.

“I really got back to my roots," she said of getting the job at North Ridge. “Elementary and primary education is really where I was meant to be.”

Lally said she sees her job as an important component of a child’s experience in school. She said that since an early age she has turned to art as a form of therapy and solace, and hopes it can be the same for her students. She said if a student is struggling in math or in history, the art room should be a place where he can succeed.

“I basically have two philosophies,” she said. “I never, ever underestimate a student's ability, and I want them to feel good about themselves.”