DANIELLE KUTIS

This fall Mrs. Kutis began her eleventh year of teaching art. Her educational career began in 1999 at Ascension of Our Lord School and as a substitute teacher for the South Euclid/Lyndhurst School District. Mrs. Kutis began teaching art at Birchwood School in 2006. She continues to teach at West Park Catholic Academy, a merger between Ascension and Saint Patrick’s School. Mrs. Kutis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in art from Ursuline College, a teaching certification
from Baldwin Wallace College, and a Master's degree from
Cleveland State University in curriculum instruction with a reading endorsement. Cuyahoga Community College and the Cleveland Institute of Art are other schools where she continues to take classes to enhance her art and teaching skills. Mrs. Kutis intertwines her love of art and reading to enlighten the students and guide them into unleashing their creativity.

During the summer of 2006, Mrs. Kutis worked cooperatively with other art and music teachers to revise the fine arts curriculum for the Cleveland Catholic Diocese. Following this, she demonstrated the creation and teaching of an art lesson using the new curriculum format at an art teachers' workshop. Mrs. Kutis also followed up at the Principals' Rollout Meeting with explanations and examples of the art currriculum.

Mrs. Kutis’ favorite artist is Georgia O’Keeffe. In the summer of 2008, she had the opportunity to visit Ghost Ranch at Abiqui, New Mexico, the desert home of Georgia O’Keefe, where some of her most famous paintings were created. One of her memorable moments in college was a semester spent studying art and French at the Lacoste School of Arts in southern France. She and her husband Craig enjoy traveling, photography, and bicycling. She is an avid knitter and enjoys reading
historical novels and poetry. Her favorite authors are Tracy Chevalier, Maya Angelou, and Amy Tan.