Rosemary Pilonero, music teacher at The Villages Elementary School, is has been named the 2021 Elementary Music Educator of the Year by the Florida Music Education Association (FMEA).
Each year since 1989, FMEA honors a different music educator for outstanding work in the field. Pilonero will be recognized at the FMEA virtual conference scheduled for January.
With more than 26 years of experience as a music teacher, six of them teaching in Lake County schools, Pilonero was nominated for the award by her peers at The Villages Elementary. They recognized that her love of music “only eclipsed by her love for the children that she serves.”
She is an exemplary role model for other teachers in professional development and mentorship, and is affectionately known as “the fun teacher” among students. Dr. Alice-Ann Darrow, Irvin Cooper Professor of Music Florida State University, calls her “bright, creative, personable, innovative, energetic and still very much in love with teaching.”
In addition to her regular class time teaching music to students in Pre-K through 5th grade, she also organized a Chorus Club for students seeking more musical experiences. The club, composed of about 40 students grades 3-5, rehearses regularly and perform about 20 times each year at various community events.
Pilonero has also served on the FMEA board of directors, the FMEA conference planning committee and is a past President of the FMEA.
Lake County Schools is proud to recognize Rosemary Pilonero as a dedicated educator and we offer our congratulations on this accomplishment.
