San Mateo County in Northern California has selected Betsy Halaby as the 2011 San Mateo County Arts Educator of the Year for Arts Education Development. County Supervisor Don Horsley commended Ms. Halaby, program director of Art in Action, for her contribution to arts education in the county's schools.

Since joining Art in Action in September 1987, Betsy Halaby has trained more than 10,000 teachers and parent volunteers to teach art to K-8 school children in San Mateo County schools, providing a high quality art program to more than 23,000 local students each year. Betsy Halaby also assists schools in the county with their annual spring art shows and supervises the annual Art in Action Summer Art Show in public libraries in San Mateo County.

"We are thrilled that the county honors Betsy. Many teachers and parent volunteers ascribe their teaching success to Betsy's outstanding, knowledgeable, and friendly teaching of art history, art concepts, and art projects," says Judy Sleeth, executive director of Art in Action.

Art in Action was founded in 1982 and is a nonprofit organization, which fosters the educational development and creativity of children across America through innovative visual arts programs and communities. The Art in Action curriculum is consistently praised for empowering teachers and parents to teach art, by providing detailed, easy-to-follow directions for guiding successful discussions and projects. The lessons enhance student creativity and innovative thinking, and appeal to different learning styles. The curriculum meets national and state academic standards and integrates with language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The use of innovative multimedia technology in the online curriculum provides educators with new opportunities in K-12 art education. More information at www.artinaction.org.

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