Star City High School art teacher Roger Darren High has been elected president of the Arkansas Art Educators Presidents’ Foundation, a nonprofit organization.
The Arkansas Art Educators Presidents’ Foundation provides grants to Arkansas Art Educators members for art-related supplies, projects, and small classroom equipment for the classroom.
“I am proud to have been asked to serve a leadership role in this important organization,” said High. “I look forward to helping my fellow art educators across the state meet the educational needs of their students.”
High has experience in educational grants. He has been awarded over $25,000 in grant money for educational programs including 10 Target Field Trip Grants and has helped implement over 50 field trips to provide educational opportunities for his students.
Field trips have focused on interdisciplinary connections to visual art and cultural enrichment including visits to art galleries, plays, cultural festivals, historic sites, science museums, planetariums, zoos, parks, bridges, waterparks, amusement parks, movie theatres, riverboats, and nature centers.
In 2017, High was named Secondary Art Educator of the Year by the Arkansas Art Educators at the group’s annual fall conference.
High has served as Arkansas Art Educators News Director since 2016 where he maintains social media accounts for AAE including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and a public AAE News page on Facebook. He previously served as AAE Southeast Regional Director for two years.
Since 2016, High has served as local president for the Star City Education Association. He has served on several state-level committees for both Arkansas Education Association and the Arkansas Department of Education.
High became an art teacher in 2005 after graduating from the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Art and English with a Writing Concentration teaching K-12 art for the Dermott School District. In the fall of 2011, he joined the faculty of Star City High School where he teaches art classes and serves as the advisor for the Star City High School Art Club.