Arts Instruction

I love teaching! I love helping students find the best way they can learn and go with it. I encourage all types of learning. I have empathy for my mild/moderate students because I was once one of them. I received special education services in Elementary school but was able to “exit” when I entered Jr. High.

Laura Meehan has her bachelor’s degree in music education from Texas Tech University, her master’s in music therapy from Florida State University, and is currently pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership in policy with a focus in special education at the University of South Florida. Meehan has taught in various public education settings for 10 years, the last 7 in Tampa, Florida. She has experience working with children and adult with varying abilities in individual and group settings as a therapist and as an educator. Laura serves as the president-elect of the Tampa Bay Council for Exceptional Children as well as on the board for the CEC Division of Visual and Performing Arts Education (DARTS) as the membership chair. Ms. Meehan was recently awarded teacher of the year of Hillsborough County Public Schools, the seventh largest school district in the United States representing over 14,000 educators.

DeVito is one of four music educators at the Rawlings Elementary Center for Fine Arts, a Title school in Gainesville, Florida. In 2011, DeVito was recognized as the National CEC Teacher of the Year. In 2014 he was elected to the board of the International Society for Music Education with thousands of members in nearly 100 countries. He serves as an adjunct professor in the University of Florida School of Music Masters in Music Education program.

Dr. Handsome is an alumnus of Virginia Commonwealth University and has served in Chesterfield County for 15 years and has experience with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities in the classroom. Currently, she is involved in special education compliance and she coaches special education teachers throughout Powhatan County. Her dissertation focused on post-secondary education for students with intellectual disabilities. Her heart lies in trauma-informed care and the population of youth experiencing intellectual disabilities.