Sorenson Legacy Award
Sorenson Legacy Awards Flyer
The Sorenson Legacy Awards for Excellence in Arts Education will recognize excellence in arts
education in Utah’s public schools. Children and teenage students need a well-rounded education that addresses the whole child. The study of drama, dance, music, and the visual arts helps students explore realities, relationships, and ideas that cannot be expressed simply in words or numbers. Beverley Taylor Sorenson has worked to ensure the arts as the avenue for students to develop voice, sustain engagement in school, and evoke reflection and response. The arts integrate social-emotional learning through making cultural connections. Research supports the claim that learning in the arts increases learning in other academic areas. In the global economy, creativity is essential. Study of the arts provides a venue for creativity to flourish. As educators have felt pressure to give more and more attention to literacy and numeracy, the arts have been pushed to the background. Through the Sorenson Legacy Foundation and the Utah State Office of Education, these awards will recognize the essential nature of education in the arts for Utah’s students and distinguish those educators who embrace the arts with excellence in their practice.
Awards
Awards will be given in the categories of:
- Administration of arts education
- Arts volunteer
- Dance instruction
- Drama/theatre instruction
- Elementary integration
- Music instruction
- Visual arts instruction
Each recipient will receive a cash award of $2,500 and an artistic award for display, with an additional $2,500 awarded to the recipient’s school/district for the purpose of supporting the arts program. In addition, a Lifetime Achievement Award will be given for exemplary service in arts education over a career. The recipient of this award will receive $5,000. Finally, $5,000 will be awarded for an exemplary arts program or initiative in a public school or district.
Award Events
Awards will be presented by Beverley Taylor Sorenson, or her designee, at a formal ceremony including a reception and dinner at an elegant venue in May.
You are encouraged to submit applications for the outstanding arts educators in your district
and/or school.