VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Now that’s a work of art!
Kaycie Colton, a 7th grader at Princess Anne Middle School, won the middle school category in the Virginia Lottery’s Thank a Teacher Art Contest. She was one of three winners from the elementary, middle and high school levels selected to have their artwork featured on thank-you notes that will be handed out to thousands of teachers across the state during National Teacher Appreciation Week.
Kaycie Colton with her winning piece, “Teachers: The Foundation of Society” (Photo: Virginia Lottery)
Kaycie’s piece is an artistic representation of how teachers are the foundation of society.
In a surprise presentation Friday, she was awarded a $150 gift card and $1,000 for her school’s art department.
Contest winners were selected by a blue-ribbon panel of representatives of Virginia’s arts community, including:
- Myra Legg, Executive Director, Virginia Parent Teachers Association
- Stephanie Fedor, Executive Director, Visual Arts Center of Richmond
- Amber Kuper, 2013 Virginia Lottery Super Teacher (Chesterfield County art teacher)
“I just love the teachers holding up the literal foundation and the math symbols on it,” said Judge Myra Legg about Kaycie’s piece.
Thank a Teacher is a statewide campaign organized by the Virginia Lottery in partnership with the Virginia PTA and the Virginia Tourism Corporation. More than 100,000 thank-you notes were distributed to teachers in Virginia in the campaign’s first three years.
Related: Newport News student named winner of Virginia Lottery art contest
“All of us at the Lottery are proud of our key role in supporting Virginia’s K-12 public schools, so it’s really meaningful when we have the chance to celebrate our great teachers and their most creative students,” said Virginia Lottery Executive Director Kevin Hall. “Last year, we added an interesting new component to the Thank a Teacher campaign with the inaugural Art Contest. We’re excited to again be recognizing three of Virginia’s talented young artists.”
Proceeds from the Virginia Lottery, which represent about 10 percent of the state’s entire budget for education, support programs statewide based on priorities set by Governor Ralph Northam and the Virginia General Assembly each year. These programs include the Virginia Preschool Initiative, Early Reading Intervention, Mentor Teacher, K-3 Primary Class Size Reduction, School Breakfast, Algebra Readiness, Regional Alternative Education and Career and Technical Education.
Virginia Beach schools received more than $32.8 million in funds from the Virginia Lottery for K-12 education last fiscal year. Click here for more information and to see a complete list of lottery funds to Virginia school districts.
To see the complete list of Thank a Teacher Art Contest winners, visit the Virginia Lottery Media Center.
