The Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation, in association with the Santa Barbara County Education Office, recently selected Josie Coburn as the Santa Barbara Bowl Performing Arts Teacher of the Year. Coburn is a music and band instructor in the Orcutt Union School District, where she has taught for more than eight years at five different schools in the district. She currently teaches band at Orcutt Academy High School (OAHS), Orcutt Junior High School, and Lakeview Junior High School, and classroom music at Joe Nightingale Elementary School and Patterson Road Elementary School.
“Josie encourages creativity and is regarded by her students as someone willing to brainstorm ideas with them for new and exciting solos, riffs, and performances,” Holly Edds, superintendent of the Orcutt school district, said in a press release from the county Education Office. “Under Josie’s direction, the [district] band program has tripled in size, and the OAHS band has quadrupled in size, and have both become points of pride in our community.”
Coburn will be formally recognized later this year, with other award-winning educators throughout the county during A Salute to Teachers, scheduled for Nov. 6.
“[The county Education Office] is honored to recognize Ms. Coburn for inspiring her students through music and band. The arts are essential, and Ms. Coburn and her students prove that every day through music,” Susan Salcido, superintendent of schools for Santa Barbara County, said in the release. “We are grateful for our partnership with the Santa Barbara Bowl, which continues to prioritize education through sponsorships like the Performing Arts Teacher of the Year award.”
Rick Boller, executive director of the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation, added that the foundation is “thrilled to honor incredible teachers like Josie Coburn” through support programs and annual grants, “which provide access for all to the amazing world of performing arts.”
This article appears in Jun 17-24, 2021.