South Butler educator receives Frick award
JEFFERSON TWP — A South Butler County School District teacher has been recognized with the Roy A. Hunt Foundation Award, given by The Frick Pittsburgh.
Alphonse A. Rapa is a French teacher at Knoch High School and has been bringing students to the Frick every year since 1999. Rapa’s students have participated in the Frick’s Joie de Vivre program, studying original 18th century French paintings, drawings and furniture and the dynamics of peasant and court life’s socioeconomics tensions that led to the French Revolution.
Rapa graduated from Slippery Rock University, majoring in secondary education and French and studying abroad at the Paris-Sorbonne University in Paris. He later earned a master’s degree in English.
Rapa grew up in an Italian household speaking Italian, providing him a background for learning French and Spanish.
Rapa also teaches French and Spanish at the Butler County Community College.
Rapa has worked in the South Butler district since 1977 and has been a French teacher since 1981.
“When I received the notice, I was surprised and shocked,” he said. “I was so honored to have received this award.”
Rapa did not think he had done anything extraordinary for the students and was just hoping to give them more education across the disciplines.
“I just thought I was taking a field trip,” he said. “I never figured I was doing anything special, just giving the students another experience really.”
He will receive a plaque to display at Knoch High School and a check for $3,000 for the school to help defray the cost of future field trips.
The Roy A. Hunt Foundation Award for Commitment to Education in the Arts and Humanities is given annually to an educator who has demonstrated a commitment to participating in the Frick’s education programs and who has successfully integrated the arts into the students’ learning experience.
The award was established by Torrence M. Hunt Sr., a longtime Alcoa executive who was involved with many civic, educational, wildlife, and conservation groups.
Rapa’s award was to be presented at a ceremony at noon today at the Frick Art Museum auditorium, 7227 Reynolds Street in Pittsburgh.
The Frick Pittsburgh offers educational programs for children, students, adults and families. For more information about the Frick and its educational programs, call 412-371-0600 or visit TheFrickPittsburgh.org.
