For the past 20 years, Brandi Violette has dedicated her career to teaching special education students at Olmsted Elementary School (Logan County).
Passionate about helping students learn and succeed, Violette says it’s critical to build relationships with students in order to engage them in their learning.
For some students who aren’t fond of reading, she picks books about topics that she knows they’re interested in. For students who are interested in the outdoors, she shared Kevin Lovegreen’s “Lucky Luke’s Hunting Adventures” series.
“As soon as I shared the series with my students, they began devouring the books,” she said.
Violette is active outside the classroom, too. She currently coaches girls’ basketball for Logan County Middle School and previously coached at Olmsted School. She’s also involved in club days at Olmsted, where students get to choose from a variety of games, arts and other hobbies to try out. These activities help foster a school culture among the students and staff.
“The goal of all of the clubs is to offer a more diverse set of experiences and opportunities that our students may otherwise not have access to in their lives,” Violette said.
Violette was named a 2024 Kentucky Teacher Achievement Award winner on July 5, 2023. In the summer of 2023, she accepted an assistant principal position at Olmsted Elementary, where she plans to continue building relationships with students and staff members.
“It is a blessing and privilege to become an administrator in the same school building where I started my educational career,” she said. “I am looking forward to help continue to grow Olmstead School’s tradition of excellence.”
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