The Weston Education Foundation (WEF) is proud to recognize Kate O’Keefe, photography, studio art, drawing and painting teacher, as the 2020 recipient of Weston Education Foundation’s David Trigaux Innovation Award. Since 2001, WEF has given this award annually to a teacher who demonstrates a unique level of originality and dedication toward creative teaching. The $2,500 award may be used in any way that fosters educational innovation, including travel, studies, or work outside the classroom. “WEF’s objective is to enable recipients to pursue their work with increased vigor,” said WEF Grants Chair, Sandy Hart.

Mrs. O’Keefe’s colleagues tell us that students talk about how they sign up for one of her art classes to fulfill a credit – but come back for a more advanced class due to her way of nurturing a creative ability that they never know existed. Ms. O’Keefe strives to share her love and passion for the arts with her students and give them the confidence to visually express themselves. Mrs. O’Keefe says, “I have found that as students have watched me create a body of work, they have become more apt to take creative risks and push themselves to the next level. Showing students, discussing my work and artist statements with them has helped the AP students streamline their bodies of work and written statements. Because I too switch between many different media and artistic techniques, I believe it has inspired many of my students to try new media or techniques, take risks with concepts or ideas, work on a larger scale, and have more confidence in their own talent.”

The Award is named for David Trigaux — teacher, principal, program administrator, and former superintendent of the Weston Schools — who was widely recognized for encouraging creativity in education and for his support of teachers who brought it to their classrooms. He also played a critical role in the creation and early evolution of the Weston Education Foundation.

If you’d like to learn more about WEF, our work, and those that we support, we encourage you to have a look around our site.