NORWICH – Throughout her 33-year teaching career, Perry Browne Intermediate School’s art education teacher Kathy Pfeifer has held fast to the idea that there’s more to art class than learning how to move a paint brush across a canvas.

Actually, Pfeifer’s advocacy for the arts has been recognized locally for years, and her devotion to art education earned her accolades in 2013 as the “Region Art Educator of the Year” in region four of the New York State Art Teachers Association. The region encompasses Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schuyler, Tioga, and Tompkins counties.

This year, Pfeifer’s dedication is being recognized on a broader scale. In September, she was dubbed NYSATA’s “Art Educator of the Year,” a title that’s selected from the previous year’s pool of ten regional awardees for Region Art Educator of the Year.

“It’s an honor to be recognized,” Pfeifer said, citing a list of noteworthy nominees that included teachers and college professors from across the state. “They had a prestigious list of educators to consider, so this is a great opportunity to network with other art professionals at the state and national level, and to get the name of (Perry Browne) outside the community.”