ROYALTON, MN  --  Royalton Elementary School Principal Phil Gurbada will receive the Distinguished Service Outside the Profession award from the National Art Education Association in March 2008.

Gurbada, who is in his 19th year as principal, has emphasized arts education at Royalton Elementary School. He will receive the award at the group’s national convention in New Orleans. Gurbada won the administrator of the year award in 2007 from the Minnesota Arts Education Association.

The National Art Education Association is an organization of 22,000 arts educators that promotes art through education, professional development, service advancement of knowledge and leadership.

For years, Gurbada has been walking many miles to raise money for arts programming at the school.

And he has worked with artists, students and staff to create murals in the school hallways. Three miniature visual arts museums have been created within the school displaying student art projects, with another on display at Royalton City Hall.