A Tucson drama teacher is being honored with a national award for his longtime dedication to helping students explore their love of theater.
Art Almquist, of Tucson High Magnet School, has been named the 2016 Reba R. Robertson Outstanding Teacher of Drama by the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America.
He will receive his award at the end of the month at the foundation’s awards ceremony in Boston, according to a Tucson Unified School District news release.
The award was named for Robertson, a public school teacher who spent nearly 40 years teaching high school drama, and is meant to recognize teachers who follow her lead.
A native Tucsonan, Almquist began teaching acting at Tucson High in 1996 and has continued to teach while directing plays in the 20 years since.
He won Tucson’s LUMIE Award for Arts Teacher of the Year in 2008 and was named reader’s’ choice for People magazine’s 2013 Teacher of the Year.
“I love seeing the spark of excitement and connection that happens in students when they are working on a scene or doing improv or having that moment that just clicks,” Almquist told the Star in 2013.
