Illya Tolbert, M.Ed. (’07), alum of the College of Education Art Education program, named Michigan’s middle school Art Educator of the Year for 2022
Chalkbeat Detroit, 12/14
This Detroit art teacher loved animation as a kid. Now he’s inspiring his students with it.
By Lori Higgins
Illya Tolbert loved art so much growing up that he and his brother Yul would often race around their Detroit home searching for something — anything — they could draw on. When he wasn’t finding inspiration at home, he was finding it in the classroom, learning from the art teachers who became his favorite instructors in Detroit Public Schools. Tolbert is now an art teacher, with a career spanning 26 years. He has been named Michigan’s middle school Art Educator of the Year for 2022. Tolbert earned his BFA in art and M. Ed. in art education from Wayne State University.