DAVIDSONVILLE — The art room at Davidsonville Elementary School is now home to Maryland’s top elementary art teacher.
Melissa Wuest has been named the 2026 Elementary Art Educator of the Year by the Maryland Art Education Association, Anne Arundel County Public Schools announced Nov. 5. The association honored her Oct. 31 at its annual state conference.
The statewide award recognizes art educators for their contributions, service and achievements in advancing visual arts education.
Wuest has taught in the county school system for 26 years. She spent much of that time at Eastport Elementary School in Annapolis before moving to Davidsonville, in the southern part of the county. Beyond her own classroom, she has written curriculum for the school system and mentored other art teachers.
She described the payoff of the job as the moment a child discovers a capability he or she did not know was there, and the confidence that follows the student out of the studio. Art class, she said in the school system’s announcement, helps create “the problem-solvers and critical thinkers of the future.”
Wuest also turned the spotlight on her colleagues, saying she wished she could share the award with fellow art teachers who stay after school loading kilns and preparing materials.
Casey Perkins, the school system’s coordinator of visual art, credited Wuest with pairing empathy and creativity with rigor, holding students to high expectations while giving them the support to meet them. Perkins and Davidsonville Elementary Principal Colleen Harris backed the nomination, and Wuest thanked both for it.
Kevin Wajek, who directs curriculum, instruction and assessment for the school system’s pre-K-12 programming, called her a deserving recipient whose career shows the effect a dedicated art teacher can have.
The Maryland Art Education Association is the professional organization for the state’s visual arts teachers and presents educator awards each year by teaching level.
