From left to right: Sheryl Fiolek, Page Jackson Elementary art teacher; Sherry Sykes, AHA! board member; Chad Conant, Shepherdstown Middle School band director; Judy Chesley, South Jefferson Elementary art teacher; and Julie Siler, President, AHA! (submitted)

The Arts & Humanities Alliance of Jefferson County (AHA!) has awarded 18 mini-grants, totaling $8,300, to teachers in Jefferson County in its annual arts education funding.

The Teaching Arts Creatively program, founded by former board member Quincy Northrup, has awarded over $78,000 over the past 10 years for arts education projects in Jefferson County.

Amanda Towsend at Shepherdstown Elementary School received funds to go toward the purchase of one tenor recorder and six alto recorders for a school recorder ensemble.

Shepherdstown Middle School received two grants. John Russell will use AHA! funds to purchase Orff Schulwerk instruments and music books, and Chad Conant will use the money to fund Jazz Clinicians Pat Lowry, Jesse Shultzaberger and John Lynch, Sr. to work with the Shepherdstown Middle School Jazz Band. This grant will also fund John Lynch, Sr. to conduct two concert band clinics.

Larissa Elliott, from Jefferson High School, will use the money to bring in guest artist Steve Warner, to lead a musical history lesson for students, focusing on popular music of the 20th century Stephen Foster, Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan.

AHA! is proud to support the Eastern WV Regional Jazz Festival for middle and high school jazz bands, led by J.P. Lynch, Jr., through its grants.

Shepherd University Vocal Competition, led by Brooke Evers, also received funding. This is a competition for high school juniors and seniors.

Various other schools were also recipients of mini-grants from AHA!.

AHA! would like to thank the members of the arts education committee – Sherry Sykes, Pam Parziale, Kathryn Burns, Tanya Godfrey and Donna Northouse.

AHA! is planning to hold a second round of arts education grants in February 2012. Please check the AHA! website for details, www.ahajc.org, or contact Sykes, chair of the TAC Program at sherrylsykes@gmail.com.

The Arts & Humanities Alliance is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to promote the arts and humanities of Jefferson County. AHA! is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, West Virginia Commission on the Arts, the Jefferson County Commission, private donations and a grant from ECOLAB Corporation for arts education programs.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the Arts & Humanities Alliance of Jefferson County to support the future of this program and arts education in schools, please send your donation to AHA!, P.O. Box 2051, Shepherdstown, WV 25443.