Teacher of the Week: Les Kutz, art, Dr. Williams Elementary, Urbana

Email nominations to Anthony Zilis at azilis@news-gazette.com

In Les Kutz’s first year at Dr. Williams Elementary, the University of Illinois graduate changed the way art was taught at the Urbana school.

Kutz allowed students to sign up for activities that included crocheting, sewing and zine-making, and collaborated with teachers during social-emotional planning sessions. This year, Kutz was given a Shining Star Award by the Champaign-Urbana Schools Foundation.

I find my work important because … everyone deserves to have the freedom to create in their life, but beyond, that I feel that everyone deserves the freedom to be themselves. My goal is always to encourage students to express themselves fully and without question from others. It is so important that students have adults in their lives that encourage them to be who they are.

I became a teacher because … I love sharing art with people! I have always had a teaching spirit, but I never thought of myself as a teacher because school was not always a positive place for me as a queer and neuro-divergent person. I feel very lucky to have landed where I did at Dr. Williams, and that I am able to share my love of artistic exploration with the most wonderful students.

My favorite thing to teach students is … sewing. There is nothing more magical than having the ability to sew. And the most magical part is that anyone can sew, and once you know you can only grow!

My most fulfilling moments on the job are when … something clicks for a student. It is so exciting to see the shift in confidence for someone who finally reaches their goal after persisting, growing and shifting from mistakes along the way. To witness a student’s self empowerment, to share lifelong skills, to witness these lessons being carried into the future, these are moments which fill my heart with joy.

I keep students engaged by … allowing them the power to choose their own artistic path. I think it is so important to offer students a place to take risks, to challenge themselves and to try things they might have thought they couldn’t do.

Something else I’m passionate about is … puzzles. Sudoku, word puzzles, brain teasers, the great mysteries of life. I love a good riddle. The world is a mystery.

My favorite teacher and subject to study were … I had several very special teachers in my life. My third-grade teacher, Mrs. Palmer, at Lincoln Elementary; my high school English teachers, Mrs. Bally and Mrs. Driver, at Dixon High school; my middle school English teacher, Mrs. Delhotal; and honorable mention to Mrs. Renkes, who was never officially my teacher but let me eat lunch in her room at least once a week at Reagan Middle School. School was not easy for me, but these teachers definitely made a difference in my life in our short times together. My favorite subjects were art and writing.

If I weren’t a teacher, I would be ... a floral designer with my own flower shop. Fun fact: I studied floral design and greenhouse management a few years before I ever thought I would study to become a teacher.

I’m spending my summer break … making art, riding my bike, reading, camping, going to concerts, cooking delicious food with my partner, feeding the birds and the squirrels in our yard, having fires and watching the sunset.

— Anthony Zilis