Accessible
Arts, Inc. (AAI) and the Kansas State Board of Education (KSBE) collaborate
each year to recognize the valuable work of people who include Kansas children
with disabilities in art experiences. To honor these individuals, AAI and
KSBE established two awards in 1983, one for Distinguished Service in Arts
and Disabilities and one for the Kansas Educator of the Year in Arts and
Disabilities. On May 10th, in a ceremony at the Kansas State School for
the Blind, the following individuals will be honored for demonstrating excellence
in service (through the arts) to children with and without disabilities.
 Tina Blatter with student in Ceramics Art Club |
| Tina
Blatter is a native of New York State and has been legally blind since
birth. When she was advised in high school that an art degree would
not be feasible, she continued on her own to develop her talent, experimenting
with various mediums. |
| After
additional vision loss in the late 1980s, she began to create tactile
collages. With a background in Special Education and counseling, Blatter
has found it most comfortable to work in the classroom setting. Beginning
in 1990, she has been involved with VSA arts and has participated
in various artist-in-residence and touring arts programs, presenting
workshops throughout the mid-west and at the 1994 VSA arts festival
in Brussels, Belgium. |
| Tina
came to Kansas City in 2000, to work as the Program Director for Accessible
Arts (AAI). In 2002, a traumatic brain injury challenged her to look
for other ways to develop her art. She continues to teach ceramics
and mixed media in the AAI After-School Arts Club and works on her
own art in fiber and ceramics. |
 Joell Ramsdell |
| Joell
Ramsdell has been teaching music for the last 14 years. His varied
experiences include teaching in the Virgin Islands, the inner-city
of Chicago, the Blue Valley School District, and presently in Olathe.
Over the years, Joell has taught students from Pre-Kindergarten
through the twelfth grades. |
| With
training from Northwestern University, the University of Kansas,
and Pittsburg State University, Joell has musically instructed special
needs children in self-contained and inclusionary settings. The
highlight of his career was working with the LIFT program in the
Blue Valley School District. The knowledge gained through this experience
has propelled him into creating and providing fully integrated and
differentiated learning opportunities for every child, regardless
of his/her disability. |
| In
his current position, Joell volunteers hours of instruction each
week to assist ELL students in Title I reading. |
| Joell
has a 10-year-old daughter, Kamryn, and a dog named Bustopher. |