Lori Hoover is finishing her time as Auke Bay Elementary School Principal with a statewide honor.
The Alaska Arts Education Consortium (AAEC) awarded Hoover with “2017 Champion of the Arts” recognition for integrating arts into her educational approach. Hoover, who retires this year after 10 years as principal, has a reputation for involving the arts in everything she does.
Hoover has been a key part of getting Juneau involved with a national program called Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child. This program strives to expand arts education across all grade levels. Hoover’s work isn’t limited to inside the classroom, as she helped ensure that Auke Bay Elementary’s remodel was done with an eye on involving Native art.
The AAEC operates with the belief that higher academic achievement results from better arts education, and works to equip educators and administrators to involve the arts every day. Hoover fit that bill, and received her award at Tuesday’s Juneau School District Board of Education meeting.