Portland High School art educator Elise Pelletier has been named 2025 Art Educator of the Year by the Maine Art Education Association (MAEA). In March, Pelletier attended the national Art Education Association convention in Louisville, Kentucky, where she received her award. 

Pelletier is a dedicated and passionate educator who has been teaching secondary art education for 16 years both in Maine and New York City.  She is an active member of the MAEA where she has participated as the state’s youth art month coordinator for over seven years, and also helps to maintain the MAEA website. 

In addition to her classroom teaching, she has developed art curriculum frameworks and assessments in the Scarborough Schools, where she formerly worked; mentored pre-service teachers; and facilitated professional learning experiences for other educators. 

Pelletier continues teaching photography and art fundamentals at Portland High School and hopes her students continue to use their creative potential as a lifelong skill that can be applied throughout their lives.

Read a 2023 interview with Pelletier posted on Portland Museum of Art’s website, in which she shares her views on art education.