On March 8, 2024, Superintendent Koby Willis won an award for his support for art education. The award is the icing on the cake for a multitiered list of his accomplishments in the arts for Piute School District.
Koby Willis was the recipient of the Administrator of the Year award at Utah Art Education Association’s annual conference. Superintendent Willis received a plaque and a piece of handmade artwork from Christa Green, an artist and educator in Moab.
Aleia Nay, art teacher at Piute High School, nominated Willis. Among the superintendent’s accomplishments that led to the award were a district-wide “Alumni Project,” expansion of visual art classes across Piute schools, facilitation of a screen-printing business for Piute High School, involvement in Piute County’s new arts council and the revitalization of the high school theater program.
In general, Superintendent Willis has been a huge supporter of the arts.
“His proactive approach to listening and responding to the needs of educators has facilitated the expansion of visual art classes across all schools,” said Aleia Nay. “As a compassionate leader, Koby Willis exemplifies a spirit of service and dedication to nurturing the creative aspirations of others.”
And Willis’ dedication runs pretty deep, right down to his core beliefs about education itself. “The arts make school fun and create balance,” the superintendent said in an email with The Byway. “School should be enjoyable and some students need the arts to make it so.” Though he is not really an artist himself, he appreciates the positive impact art has on both high school students and adults.
“There is no branch of education that cannot be improved with art,” Willis was quoted saying, “there is no subject that cannot be made more interesting with art, and there is no lesson that cannot be made more memorable with art.”
Congratulations Superintendent Koby Willis for being the recipient of such a well-deserved award!
– The Byway
Feature image caption: Piute Superintendent Koby Willis accepts his award for Utah Administrator of the Year at the UAEA conference. March 8, 2024. Courtesy of Aleia Nay.
Read more about one of Piute High School’s programs in Piute Alumni Magazine.