Locust Valley High School art teacher Melanie Mooney has been selected as a 2026 Framing the Future Award recipient by the Art Supervisors Association.
The award recognizes outstanding contributions to visual arts education across Nassau County, and Mooney was selected as the 2026 District Arts Leader Award.
According to Dr. Kelly Nixon, immediate past president of the Art Supervisors Association, Mooney’s selection reflects her positive impact on students, colleagues and the broader Nassau County arts education community.
Reflecting on the award and her work with her students, Mooney said:
What does receiving this award mean to you?
Receiving this award is an honor and is very meaningful to me. I come from a legacy of art teachers. My mom was a high school art teacher for 36 years, and my mother-in-law was an elementary art teacher for 47 years. I grew up loving, learning about, and dedicating myself to the arts.
This award validates more than 20 years of teaching art. Teaching is such a huge part of who I am and has become an important part of my identity. This award recognizes the work I have devoted so much of my life to, but I share it with my mother, my mother-in-law, my family and, most importantly, my students. They are such a huge part of why I love what I do.
How does the award reflect the work you do with your students every day?
I really try to make my classroom a place where students have a “safe place” where they feel comfortable being themselves, expressing their ideas, and taking chances. One of the greatest things about art is that there isn't always one right answer. I tell my students all the time that sometimes the idea that doesn't work is the thing that leads you to a better idea.
I am committed to my students and to advocating for their voices. I want them to recognize their skills and talents and feel confident sharing their work with others and with the community. I want my classroom to be a place where students feel supported enough to take risks, make mistakes, and discover what they are capable of.
What do you hope your students take away from their time in your classroom, beyond learning how to create art?
I hope my students find joy in art. Art is a way to communicate and express themselves. It is their way of storytelling. Even when we study art history and discuss artists and their lives, we then analyze their artwork and make connections between their experiences and the art they created.
I hope my students take with them the ability to think creatively, solve problems, take risks, and not be afraid when something doesn't work for them the first time. Sometimes, what we initially see as a mistake can lead us to a better idea.
I also hope art teaches them to really look at this beautiful world. We live in a fast-paced world where everything seems to move so quickly. I hope my students slow down and notice things—the people, the places, the history, and the beauty in the ordinary. I hope they become better observers.
Ultimately, I hope they remember how they felt in my classroom. In our community of learners, I hope they felt seen. I hope they felt that their ideas mattered. I hope they leave knowing that creativity isn't something you either have or don't have. It is something within them—something they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Congratulations Melanie Mooney on this well-deserved recognition.