Suzanne Renner has been a tremendous asset to D214 schools and deserves recognition as a Friend of the Arts.
Sue may be soft spoken, but she is a powerhouse in the classroom, always coming up with new ideas for students and helping them find their artistic voice. Students always appreciate her openness and her energy. It is impossible not to be excited about art around her. She is such a gracious artist and patient teacher, sharing so many lessons and creative solutions to art and to life. She also has a wonderful laugh that can be heard down the hall.
Sue took on many large projects during her tenure and most recently coordinated with Hersey students to create a mural for the Road Home Program, a group that provides mental health care and wellness to veterans. Sue’s passion and enthusiasm for the project influenced other schools to follow suit and create murals for the program that will be auctioned to raise money towards veterans services in the community.
Sue shares her time and knowledge not only with students, but also her colleagues. She has demonstrated different art approaches like sharing techniques using encaustic wax or demonstrating monoprinting techniques during teacher workshops.
Art teachers have experienced the many ways that Sue made time to greet, console, joke, inspire, and share her wisdom with them. She creates lasting friendships and trust among her colleagues as a considerate listener. She has shared her expertise with student teachers and new staff, serving as a great mentor and giving advice with natural ease and warmth. As a member of the Arts Unlimited committee, Sue has provided D214 students with hands-on and career-focused opportunities in the fine and performing arts especially during the annual Visual Arts Day.
Sue Renner will be greatly missed. We wish Sue all the best in her retirement as she continues on into greener pastures– her farm in Wisconsin.
While Mark Maxwell teaches, his students find themselves surrounded by extraordinary student art on every wall: a large, colorful Buddha; black & white drawings of Salvador Dali, Charlie Chaplin, and Kurt Vonnegut; picture montages; 3-D art; and incredible abstract paintings with a social justice twist, inspired by Mark’s teaching. A long-time organizer and presenter of Arts Unlimited Creative Writing Day, Mark brought together Creative Writing teachers from across District 214 and local authors to present writing workshops for students, an annual tradition which continues to this day. Because he is an author himself, Mark understands how a writer needs to be encouraged to engage in the long rewriting process.Through humor and compassion, Mark is able to guide students to become their best writing selves.He teaches students to think for themselves by modeling for them how to craft their words in both fierce and gentle ways that empowers students to find their voice and hone their writing craft.
Mark came on the scene at District 214 back in 1989 and won the hearts and respect of both students and colleagues ever since. His intelligence and compassion for students is rivaled only by his immense talent and even bigger heart.Outside of the classroom, he supported the arts for many years as the RMHS Arts Unlimited Coordinator, arranging awesome experiences for all of the students such as, “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” and brought Poetry Slam founder, Mark Smith, to offer his expertise and ideas to English teachers on how to inspire students’ original poetry.
As a colleague, Mark is generous with his ideas and fun. He is always willing to jump in and share his relevant and powerful lessons with the department, raising the bar for all of us, yet he remains humble and brings out the best in everyone through inspired conversation.