A Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) teacher has been named the recipient of the 2023 Elizabeth A. H. Green School Educator Award. Mrs. Sarah Ball, a North Gwinnett Middle School Orchestra teacher, earned the recognition for her profound impact on string education in her community, state, and beyond.

     The Elizabeth A.H. Green School Educator Award is a national award presented annually to one school string teacher with a current and distinguished career in a school orchestral setting by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA). Mrs. Ball said, “I am honored to receive the Elizabeth A. H. Green award from ASTA. I accept this award with a humble heart on behalf of the thousands of teachers that change lives every day.”

     From her award nomination letter, her co-teacher Amy Clement stated, “…she is a passionate music educator who enjoys sharing her love of teaching with others. She has recruited countless numbers of students, mentored many student teachers, inspired hundreds of music educators, and of the highest compliment, she has even had several former students become orchestra teachers to follow in her footsteps.”

As a creative mind and innovative advocate for string education, Mrs. Ball has connected, inspired, taught, coached, and developed current​   and future generations of string students and teachers. She has led in Gwinnett County schools, but also shared her light beyond her school district with incomparable engagement and motivational strategies in state, local, regional, and national presentations, and guest clinician performances. Her service to the profession is greatly valued and appreciated. The award reviewers also noted these activities as incredibly influential – including serving as GMEA orchestra division chair, as Georgia ASTA president, and as a Member-at-Large on the national ASTA board. The impact that she has made in guest conducting roles not only influences those students in the ensembles, but also their teachers and families. Mrs. Clement also wrote, “What a gift she has, and we are so thankful that she has chosen to share it! In the foreword to The Modern Conductor, Mark Gibson states, ‘The task of imparting and sharing what we know of music with future generations of performers and listeners is not merely the conductor’s sacred responsibility; it is among our greatest delights’ (Green and Gibson, 2004). This quote fully describes Sarah Ball as the amazing music educator she is because the work she does each day results in her sharing a joy and a love for music to so many individuals, in so many different settings. Those that have had the privilege of being influenced by Mrs. Ball know that she always leaves situations, performances, organizations, ensembles, and classrooms better than she found them. Her impact goes beyond the students in her classroom and contributes to the overall good of the profession in ways that will long not be forgotten.”

Mrs. Ball will be accepting the award during a presentation at the national conference in Orlando, Fla., in March 2023.

Higher resolution images available here:   https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lxovso8Jb2MInb96JaJ9JjZD-vOswX8H?usp=sharing