State hires new visual arts consultant Union teacher to take up position that was reinstated in latest budget

AUGUSTA – An arts educator with more than 30 years of teaching experience has been appointed as the new visual and performing arts consultant for Maine.

The Maine Alliance for Arts Education and the Maine Department of Education jointly announced last week that Argera Nestor, visual arts teacher at D.R. Gaul Middle School in Union, will take up the full-time position in August. The job was eliminated during budget cuts in the late 1990s and reinstated during the last legislative session,

“Symbolically, this position says the arts are an important content area for all students to study, and now the Department of Education reflects that,” said Carol Trimble, executive director of the Maine Alliance. “Practically, it provides a resource for school personnel to go to with questions about learning results and about implementing standards for arts education.”

Nestor, whose nickname is Argy (pronounced AR-gee), was chosen from a pool of about 20 applicants and four finalists because of her work as an arts teacher, expertise in assessment and connections with teachers throughout the state. She was also Maine Teacher of the Year in 1995.

In her new role, Nestor will serve as a statewide consultant for the visual and performing arts, provide information to districts and school for implementing K-12 arts programming and offer a statewide approach to professional development for arts education in all the arts disciplines, including dance, music, theater and visual arts.

“I see this as an opportunity for the arts to take a more concrete direction,” said Nestor, in a phone call Tuesday from New Jersey, where she is visiting her parents. “The arts should be at the heart of every school curriculum, and having someone in place in this role can have an impact on the entire state.”

Valerie Seaberg, team leader for standards assessment and regional services at the Maine Department of Education, said Nestor’s implementation of local arts programming was exemplary. She also cited the arts educator’s statewide work with colleagues and participation in educational forums.

“Argy has demonstrated leadership in a number of ways,” said Seaberg. “She has a commitment and understanding of the importance of the arts in a child’s education, that it’s about the whole child and that arts are part of student success. She believes and is committed to that idea and can demonstrate how that works in effective arts programming. She’ll participate in local, statewide and national activities to bring Maine’s work to the national level and to inform our work back in Maine. ”

Nestor, who earned a masters degree in education from the University of Maine, expressed enthusiasm for the potential of her new job and for teaching in general.

“One thing I know from being teacher of the year is that there is wonderful education being delivered across the state of Maine,” she said. “We in the teaching profession need to be proud and hold our heads up high. The arts are one our best-kept secrets, and I want to bring that out and shout out what the arts are doing across the state. We have a lot to be proud of.”

Alicia Anstead can be reached at 990-8266 and aanstead@bangordailynews.net.