Dorothy Kometani Kittaka
1999 Inductee

Music Teacher
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Total years as a classroom teacher: 28

Dorothy Kometani Kittaka's education began in a nursery school in an American Concentration Camp in Heart Mountain, Wyoming, where she lived with 120,000 other Japanese Americans, who also were sent to various other such camps in the U.S. Her earliest memory of music was a melancholy trumpet melody repeatedly played in the camp by a strange man she called, "Poo-Pah-Poo Man."

The culmination of a students' years at Haverhill is a dinner-theater musical production, in which parents co-chair and organize the entire production of dinner, costumes, make-up, programs, setup, etc.

She was a founding member of FAME, Foundation for Art and Music in Elementary Education, which has become one of the most influential arts organizations in the state, reaching more than100,000 students in 1999. Each year, FAME selects a different cultural focus in an effort to promote better understanding of our country's richly diverse cultural heritage. FAME facilitates teacher workshops, a visiting artists program, cultural kit lesson plans, a week-long summer residence camp, and a composition project, a collaboration between FAME and the Philharmonic. It has garnered many awards, including the State Farm's Good Neighbor Award and the Indiana Governor's Arts Award.

Haverhill's Fine Arts Day is a learning experience for the entire school, including students, teachers, support staff, and parents, during which more than 30 different arts courses are offered. from metal smithing and opera to storytelling and dance.

"Dorothy has helped bring to life an organization (FAME) which now stands, in my opinion, as the area's most effective vehicle in delivering high-quality arts experiences to elementary school children. . .the Arts United Arts Leadership Initiative program, which she helped develop and teach, has been called "a new national model for arts education."
--  Geoff Gephart, president, Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne

"Dorothy has an engaging dedication and passion for teaching children an appreciation of music and art. After teaching all day, Dorothy continues her tremendous efforts outside the clasroom preparing for the different FAME events that continue throughout the year. She works non-stop, but to Dorothy it's not work, it is her life and her soul. Dorothy is a leader, an asset to our community, and a compelling educator for our children."
 --Robert A. Klingle, vice president and general manager, NBC33, WKJG-TV

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