Teacher of the Year Renee Mitsunaga with her family. From left, sons Rey and Ben and husband John Mitsunaga. Courtesy photo

Certified Employee of the Year nominees from each school. From left, Audrey Juliani – Barranca, Natalie Sinnis – Pinon, Renee Mitsunaga – Chamisa, Ildiko Nadaskay-Goeller – LAHS, Tony Hinojosa – Mountain and  Andrea Dowdy – Aspen, Not pictured: Sherri Bublitz – LAMS. Courtesy photo

Los Alamos Public Schools Employees of the Year were announced May 19 at an End of the Year Celebration at Fuller Lodge. The event also honored LAPS retirees.

Employees of the Year include Classified Employee of the Year Marianne Anaya, a 13 year employee who serves as an instructional assistant at Aspen Elementary, Administrator of the Year Karla Crane who has been with the district 36 years and is currently coordinator of student services, and Renee Mitsunaga, who has been at the District six years and currently serves as the art teacher at Chamisa Elementary.

Mitsunaga will be the District’s nominee for N.M. Teacher of the Year.

“It was a huge shock to be chose, first at Chamisa and then at the awards ceremony,” Mitsunaga said. “I was amazed at the company I was in. It could have been any of us.”

The other nominees were Andrea Dowdy, Audrey Julliani, Rafael (Tony) Hinojosa, Natalie Sinnis, Sherrie Bublitz and Ildiko Nadasky-Goeller.

This is Mitsunaga’s third year as the Chamisa art teacher. Prior to that, she taught third grade at Pinon Elementary.

Before becoming a certified teacher, Mitsunaga worked as an instructional assistant for 10.5 years, first in her native Hawaii and then in Michigan and Alamagordo. When her husband got a job at Los Alamos National Laboratory the family moved to Los Alamos, where Mitsunaga continued her career as an IA at Pinon Elementary.

Mitsunaga entered an internship program in the Santa Fe Public Schools through which she received licensure via the University of New Mexico. She taught in Santa Fe and Tesuque for a number of years before returning to Pinon as a third grade teacher.

Mitsunaga comes from a family of teachers. Her mother taught elementary school and her father was a high school teacher and counselor. She grew up on Lana’i, the Pineapple Island and attended a school for K-12 students. “It’s like white Rock on an island,” Mitsunaga joked.

“I always loved bringing art into the classroom,” Mitsunaga said. “When an opportunity arose to use my art endorsement, I felt called to become an art teacher. My experience as a classroom teacher has helped me integrate other subjects into the art curriculum.”

“Teaming with other teachers is the key to my success,” Mitsunaga said. Notable collaborations have included working with fourth grade teacher Meagan Lee to create paintings inspired by Georgia O’Keefe for the Sombrillo Nursing Home. The project included a visit to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum. The students also visited the State Legislature. It was an emotional moment when the paintings were delivered to Sombrillo.

“Everyone was crying,” Mitsunaga said. “It was so moving.”

Another collaboration was a recycling project that included a poster contest and a recycled fashion show. The project won fifth in the nation for Chamisa.

The Chamisa Culture Fair is one of Mitsunaga’s favorite collaborative efforts.

“The kids end up participating school-wide,” she said. “We want to inspire students to honor their cultures.”

“My favorite thing is collaborating with classroom teachers,” Mitsunaga said. “My ability to know what a classroom teacher needs is a huge asset. I have the flexibility to integrate the curriculum into my classroom.”

Mitsunaga is excited about the new emphasis on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math). She said the inclusion of art into the mix ads a hands-on approach to teaching the other subjects. “I want to bring projects into the schools that integrate art with all of the subject areas,” she said. One collaboration already in the works is with the Pajarito Environmental Education Center.

Mitsunaga will be the art team leader this year. She is looking forward to even more collaborations with classroom teachers and sharing her vision for integrating art with other subject areas.

She also looks forward to learning from the staff and from her students, she said. “In art, you’re always learning.”