AUGUSTA – The Maine Alliance for Arts Education and the Maine Community Foundation have announced the recipients of the first round of the Maine Arts Teachers Fellowship Program.

The program supports personal artistic development of Maine kindergarten through 12 teachers in all arts disciplines and gives the arts educators the opportunity to interact with professional artists in their fields.

The Maine Alliance for Arts Education and the Maine Community Foundation awarded eight $4,000 fellowships for 2007 to the following local arts educators:

Michael Davis, Sherwood Heights Elementary School, Auburn, to study West African drumming through a month-long workshop in Senegal.

Allison Villani, Portland High School, Portland, to attend the book arts workshop at USM’s Stone House in Freeport.

The teachers will be given an additional $1,000 grant to be used in the classroom after their fellowships are completed.