Longtime Sarasota County teacher named to Florida Music Educators’ Hall of Fame

Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·1 min read
Cindy Balistreri, a longtime Sarasota County music educator, was received the Hall of Fame Award from the Florida Music Educators Association.
Cindy Balistreri, a longtime Sarasota County music educator, was received the Hall of Fame Award from the Florida Music Educators Association.

Cindy Balistreri, who worked for Sarasota County schools for 38 years before retiring in 2009 as Fine Arts Program Specialist, received the Florida Music Education Hall of Fame Award during the annual conference of the Florida Music Educators Association in Tampa.

Balistreri taught elementary music education at Booker Elementary, Phillippi Shores Elementary and Brookside Middle School before being named Fine Arts Program Specialist in 1992. She served on committees developing curriculum standards and assessments for public school programs, and served as president of FMEA and the Florida Music Supervision Association.

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In 2008, she received the Arts Leadership Award for Arts Education from the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. After her retirement, the Community/Schools Partnership, which is affiliated with the Alliance, established the Cindy Balistreri Arts Leadership Award to honor Sarasota teachers for achievements in arts education.

From 2010 to 2017, she became the arts education manager for the Alliance, working with schools, teaching artists and community organizations. She also worked with the Alliance and Patterson Foundation to create materials and training on the themes of patriotism, service and freedom.

She was co-initiative manager for EdExploreSRQ.com, an online platform for arts and cultural opportunities in Sarasota County, including field trips, classroom experiences, speakers and virtual activities for K-12 students.

A classical pianist and clarinetist, Balistreri earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Florida State University in 1970 and a Master of Science in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of South Florida in 1985.

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida Music Educators induct Sarasota teacher into Hall of Fame