District Art Teacher Yvonne López-Taylor Named Region 4 Elementary Teacher of the Year

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The Carter Academy teacher advances to the state competition for a chance to vie for the national title.

Region 4 Education Service Center named Yvonne López-Taylor Elementary Teacher of the Year. Instead of an in-person gala ceremony, the event, Heroes for Children, went virtual this year. Region 4 announced the winners on August 3. The Secondary Teacher of the Year Award went to Janet Menzie from Fort Bend ISD. Both will be advancing to the state competition.

Pam Wells, executive director of Region 4, kicked off the ceremony with showcasing all 79 Teachers of the Year across the region, including the 10 finalists, who underwent a rigorous process that included a panel of judges. They were selected from among more than 76,000 teachers in the area. The state winners will be announced later this fall.

The virtual event had several special guests, including Bob Harvey, president/CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, and Scott McClelland, President H-E-B, congratulated all the teachers.

Superintendent LaTonya M. Goffney lauded López-Taylor for the distinction and her work.

“Yvonne uses art to help students express their thoughts and emotions. Students learn to be creative, to solve problems, and create meaning in their lives in her class. All of these skills are critical for success in school and life,” said Dr. Goffney. “Yvonne understands not only the power of art but also the promise we as educators make to our students: to bring our passion to the classroom and always find ways to inspire students. I am so proud of her and proud to know that the Region 4 Teacher of the Year is from Aldine ISD.”

An AISD Grad

López-Taylor grew up in the Aldine area and attended Stephens Elementary School before joining the magnet school program attending Bethune and Drew academies before graduating in 2005 from Carver High School for Engineering, Applied Technology, and the Arts.

López-Taylor’s three favorite artists are Jean Michel Basquait, Frida Kahlo, and Andy Warhol. Why? — They were all people who stood out and were one of a kind. They were not afraid of being themselves.

Art has always been a part of López-Taylor’s life. Growing up, she only wanted art supplies, books, and dinosaurs. López-Taylor’s parents always encouraged her love of art by taking her to museums and galleries. She is grateful to her family, who continually supports everything she and her young artists do.

As a student in AISD, López-Taylor took part in numerous contests between middle school and high school. The Carver grad praises her art teachers who curated her art portfolio, which led to scholarships and the opportunity to attend the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. It is Wisconsin’s only four-year, private college of visual art and design. López-Taylor double majored in communication design and printmaking.

López-Taylor has been teaching for seven years, but she didn’t start in a classroom. After college, she started a career in advertising but knew she wanted to be an art teacher. Her goal was to come back to Carver and teach art “to make her students feel empowered by making art and learning new things.”

Aldine ISD teacher Yvonne López-Taylor poses with some of her Carter Academy students early in the 2019-2020 school year.

López-Taylor wanted to make students feel the same way she did in the art studio. She credits her sister, a teacher at Jones Primary School, as one of her biggest influences in encouraging her to follow her dreams of becoming an art teacher. She is López-Taylor’s constant collaborator in all things, such as learning new skills and ideas and now, virtual learning.

While her first teaching position in 2013 did not include “art” in the title, she integrated art in her lessons to prekindergarten students at Jones EC/PreK/K School. López-Taylor still integrates subjects, only this time from the art studio at Carter Academy, and she integrates reading and math in her art lessons to students in Grades 1-5.  She loves being able to build confidence in her students, introducing them to different cultures and ways of thinking, and creating. López-Taylor teaches her students that it is perfectly fine to make mistakes. They learn how to start over with a new outlook. According to López-Taylor, art is a creative outlet for students and a way to enhance learning.

“Art class is a safe haven. Art integration, whether visual, dance, music, or drama brings a lesson to life,” added López-Taylor. “Lessons become more memorable when the arts are integrated. I can still remember lessons from elementary school because of the arts being infused. Art should always be part of a lesson. The arts make content more accessible, help students understand and express abstract concepts, build community, but most importantly provide opportunities for all learners, even those struggling, to be successful. I have seen this firsthand. We all have those struggling with academics and even behavior, and many times it’s through the arts that these students shine!

“Art class may be the first place they hear ‘great job or I knew you could do this! I am good at school.’ That is so incredibly critical to a student at any age, but especially our young students who are forming connections, developing confidence, and building self-esteem. They need to succeed and hear words of praise and acknowledgment.”

Collaboration & Teaching During the Pandemic

As an art teacher, López-Taylor has had many opportunities to present at the district, city, state, and national levels, but one of her favorite projects to work on is very local: the “Let’s TACO ’bout it” segments with AldineTV. The show’s acronym stands for Teaching Art Collaboratively Online (TACO). She and her cohost demonstrate how everyone can integrate other subjects into every art lesson, and it offers a chance to show students’ works on YouTube. When At-Home learning began in the spring, the recorded episodes were shared again to help every educator create engaging experiences.

Collaboration and networking are essential to López-Taylor. She added that she continues learning from other teachers, and is grateful for her “Aldine art flamingos.” According to López-Taylor, Dr. Michaelann Kelley, the former AISD director of visual arts, helped open doors for Aldine artists and teachers. She stated that there is no team like #AldineArt. It is this collaboration that led to the Aldine art teachers being ahead of the game with online learning. The group had already developed online lessons. López-Taylor credits art for teaching people to adapt and problem solve or cope through something like the pandemic.

“Art for many young Texans is a significant reason they show up to school or sign in to virtual school during the pandemic,” said Kaileigh Newman, the director of visual arts. “It provides a portal to the world, and as they connect and understand their world, their self-efficacy and self-esteem increase. Art is an excellent tool for self-reflection. Students use it to express themselves and to go deep into oneself. No students in Texas have as thorough experience in the arts than those in Aldine. One of our brightest stars is Yvonne. Her students are lucky to be taught by her. She bestows her students with a passport to achieve and create in a way that is both global and personal. No one is prouder of Yvonne than her colleagues here at home in Aldine.”

Young Artists Drive López-Taylor

The students drive López-Taylor to advocate for art education. She wants to show her students the world through art, and she wants the world to see what her students can do. The most fun part of her work is seeing her students’ confidence grow and hearing them discuss art and their artwork, especially when they discover something new.

“I loved watching the students take ownership of the art studio and see their confidence’ glow,'” López-Taylor said. “I loved the laughs and experimentation and growth. I also hosted a virtual art club for our families and students. Everyone loved sharing. We laughed and chatted as if we were back in the art studio. I was so happy after the session, and then I bawled. I miss my students. This quarantine took an impact on teachers too. We miss our kids and our classrooms.”

When asked what she would be doing if she didn’t teach art, López-Taylor reiterated that teaching art means everything to her. She gets to teach culture, acceptance, confidence, and everyone’s stories all at once. López-Taylor would not want to leave art, but if she had to, she would still teach but always integrate art into all her lessons. 

The Importance of Art Education 

Teaching art can have its challenges with some people thinking art is not a serious core subject or that she had students coloring or crafting. López-Taylor admits that she and her students do have fun, but her students are doing more than just making crafts. López-Taylor hopes art remains a vital part of all students’ educational experience. She cannot imagine learning without the arts, which she credits for learning about chemical compounds, architectural structures, important historical people, mixtures versus solutions, supply and demand, and many more lessons. She firmly believes that young artists are problem solvers, quick thinkers, collaborators, speakers, inventors, and more.

“Yvonne is a global thinker, and she can reach kids and make connections with adults, which make her unique and such a great art teacher and art education advocate,” said Dr. Michaelann Kelley, assistant professor of art and design at Mount St. Joseph University (Cincinnati, OH). “While in Aldine, I was fortunate enough to work with and see Yvonne blossom. I moved out of state, but Aldine and the art teachers will always hold a special place in my heart. Seeing one of our Aldine teachers and an Aldine grad, win Region 4 Elementary Teacher of the Year, is one of my proudest moments.”

To future teachers considering teaching art, she advises that they shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes and to try new things. They should always keep learning and collaborating with others. And they should ask questions. They should be passionate about what they teach and what they do. If they don’t enjoy teaching, their students will know.

Beautiful Oops

López-Taylor teaches her students many lessons, but the classroom mantra is “Beautiful Oops.” It also forms part of the legacy she hopes to leave behind. The first day of art class begins with reading ‘Beautiful Oops’ by Barney Saltzberg. López-Taylor focuses on the simple but complex message of ‘When you think you have made a mistake… oops … think of it as an opportunity to make something beautiful!’ For López-Taylor, this translates to keep learning, try new things, not to be afraid of mistakes, and always to stay creative. She hopes that when her students think about her, they not only remember the dinosaurs and cheeseburgers but also remember their mantra, to be confident, to be kind to each other, and most importantly, to be their true selves.

On receiving the Region 4 Elementary Teacher of the Year honor, López-Taylor was lost for words but expressed how much she loved her students, her school, and the district. Afterward, she expressed her thoughts in detail.

“Being named Elementary Teacher of the Year proves art education is important. The arts make me a teacher. This recognition means my constant advocating for the arts is making a difference, which motivates me to keep advocating for my young artists. It means diversity is being embraced in education. I am crying happy tears and that all my beautiful oops and learning got me here.”

Follow López-Taylor, her students and her pink flamingos on Twitter to see all the art, adventures, experiences, and collaboration efforts: @mslowpaz