Carrie Mills, drama teacher at Booker Middle School, received the 2018 Cindy Balistreri Award for Excellence in Arts Education. The award was presented by The Community/Schools Partnership for the Arts (C/Spa), a collaboration between the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County and Sarasota County Schools. She received a $500 stipend to be used for classroom experience or professional learning as part of the award. Mills has been teaching in the Visual and Performing Arts program at the school for the past nine years and she currently directs six shows annually at Booker Middle School. Prior to her current teaching position, Mills served as Education Director for the Asolo Repertory Theatre and Teaching Artist at Venice Theatre. The Cindy Balistreri Award for Excellence in Arts Education is designed to recognize an individual who has demonstrated continued excellence in teaching the arts and/or integrating the arts into curriculum and instruction. The award is named for Cindy Balistreri, former music teacher and Fine Arts Program Specialist for Sarasota County Schools, and a highly regarded leader in arts education on the state and national level. 

Community/Schools Partnership for the Arts