06/10/2026
“I am originally from Memphis, Tennessee. My dad worked for Frisco Railroad and he was transferred to work at the Frisco Building on Chestnut Expressway when I was two. I went to St. Agnes school through 2nd grade, but when they quit bussing my parents moved me into public school. I attended Sherwood for third and fourth grade until they built Jeffries Elementary where I attended for fifth and sixth grade. I then attended Cherokee Jr. High until Frisco merged with Burlington Northern Railroad and they transferred my dad back to Memphis.
I remembered and loved all the SPS teachers I had in the 1970’s and 1980’s, so I knew I wanted to come back to Springfield at some point. After I attended Memphis College of Art for my Bachelors Degree and the University of Memphis for my Masters, my plan was to move back to Springfield and teach for SPS. I always knew this was the district where I wanted to teach art. I have now taught for 26 years, with 23 of those years at Pleasant View Middle School.
When I first moved back to Springfield I was unable to get a teaching position, so I signed up to substitute teach for SPS. I subbed for a whole year and met most of the elementary art teachers at that time. In the spring of 1999 I learned that an art teacher was retiring and was able to interview for a position. When I got the position, I learned about the Artworks program. I applied and was able to spend the summer before I started my actual teaching position teaching Artworks.
Artworks was a program where the teacher designed their class. My first summer I taught some trick photography classes. When one of the classes didn’t fill, the director Pam Dickinson asked if I would teach a candle making class. Ever since that first year, I have taught nothing but candle making. This is my 27th summer teaching candle making at Artworks. In my time here, SPS has gone from owning 10 candle molds that students shared from class to class to owning about 100 candle molds. Students choose from a variety of shapes and make a variety of candles and candle holders.
My favorite thing about teaching art is looking at the artwork that students make and listening to them talk about their art. Student art is some of the best art, and it is so fun to help them create it. Artworks is always a blast being more like an art camp with a mix of visual arts, crafts, music and theater/performing arts classes. I recognize so many students faces every summer that repeat Artworks year after year until they age out of the program.”
- Deanna Ballard, Art Teacher at Pleasant View K-8 School and Artworks
