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VASE History — Timeline of Improvements Developed during Dr. Farrell's Tenure

1993

As VASE began to grow and more opportunities for students were discussed. Houston then split regions in the area. Gloria McCoy was the West VASE Director, followed by Sara Chapman, then Sarah Sanders, and Tina Farrell conducted the East Region. VASE is now completely operating as an official TAEA ongoing event with 28 Regional Events across Texas, organized by the boundaries of the 20 ESC Regions. Gloria McCoy was instrumental in the development of two training films: one to explain and demonstrate the VASE adjudication process; and one to assure dignity in the jurying process. Both were developed to help train future directors and jurors.

1994

The Juror Rating Form was altered to represent a truer authentic assessment rubric and to align with the AP Art rubric. A new rating scale was created and established the IV Rating as being Superior. The State VASE Event was moved to the University of Texas at Arlington. The first VASE brochure was developed.

1996

To ensure the quality of VASE continued, she developed and established the Blue Ribbon Committee for VASE. This committee, comprised of the Regional Directors of VASE, the TAEA Director, and one Distinguished Fellow, was charged with the further development of the VASE event, bringing data and improvement ideas to discussions each summer. This resulted in the continual improvement process for VASE. Key individuals in the State Juror Training process improvements: Dr. Tina Farrell, Sara Chapman, Gloria McCoy.

Additionally, the State Event saw the addition of cash scholarships awarded to students. $2000 in scholarships were awarded to art students in each division at the state event for the first time.

1998

Dr. Farrell launched the "VASE Needs A Face" campaign, inviting student artists statewide to design an official logo for the VASE program. The winning design captures the "Power in Hand" concept, which visually unites the artist's hand and tools in a single, expressive image. This new logo now features on promotional merchandise, including T-shirts, tote bags, and letter jacket patches. Additionally, this year marked a historic milestone as art students received their first-ever varsity letter awards for earning a Superior Rating (IV) at the state competition. This was the first time in Texas history that art students would earn a letter jacket and a patch recognizing their achievements.

1999

As the High School VASE program continued to grow, there was increasing interest in establishing a VASE program for Junior High and Middle School art students. Gloria McCoy conducted the first successful VASE Middle School pilot on April 24, 1999. The pilot was designed to determine if a VASE program would benefit the students in middle school art. The event was a tremendous success with 6 districts, 9 schools, and 10 teachers represented. 57 Middle School art students submitted their works of art for the interview process.

2000

In the spring of 2000, the State VASE Event was moved to the University of Houston - Clear Lake. VASE also added a website in 2000. The website provided a virtual tour of the State Results, The Gold Seal Exhibition, and many other details of the VASE program. The website also enabled VASE participating teachers to register online.

Cheryl Evans became the State Workshop Chairman in 2000. She developed a system for students to select workshops, facilitated the supply purchases, storage of supplies, and recruited artists and teachers to present quality workshops for students and teachers at the State Event. Teachers and students received quality art instruction and found a community of creators to belong to.

Ricia Kerber accepted the position as State Scholarship Workshop Chairman, providing the first on-site live art-making sessions for scholarship awards. Ricia did an outstanding job in developing and teaching the curriculum for these scholarship workshops.

Dr. Kari Rhame (Murphy), Chief Technology Officer, Deer Park ISD, and a loyal TAEA fan, accepted the position of Technology Director and began the WAR Room operations. All scoring and official processes were developed by Kari.

Sherry White, Clear Creek ISD Art Instructor, was selected as the first College Liaison. She developed the Portfolio Review workshop for students to meet with colleges and universities. The unique characteristic of this Portfolio Review opportunity was that it allowed any student from any division level to meet and discuss their body of work. College and university representatives allowed students to bring any form of artwork including sketchbooks, DVDs, and complete AP portfolio for review. The environment was nurturing, constructive, and gave students a place that was less intimidating than a traditional Portfolio Review. Each student left the Portfolio Review with a rubric completed by each school to be taken to the student's art teacher for review. The first year, seven colleges accepted the invitation. These schools included SVA, SCAD, Ringling, UHCL, Pratt, UNT, and Sam Houston State.

2001

Junior VASE became an official program for intermediate and middle schools in Texas in 2001. Middle School regional events were named Junior VASE and encompassed grades 6 through 8. The regional event is the culminating event for Junior VASE; there is no state event at this level.

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