Jessica Dueñas, of Oldham County Middle School, was named as the 2019 Kentucky Teacher of the Year at a ceremony in Frankfort May 15. Tiffany Marsh, left, of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Fayette County), was named the 2019 Kentucky High School Teacher of the Year. NyRee Clayton-Taylor, right, of Phillis Wheatley Elementary (Jefferson County), was named the 2019 Kentucky Elementary Teacher of the Year. Photo by Bobby Ellis, May 15, 2018

Jessica Dueñas, formerly of Oldham County Middle School and now with W.E.B. DuBois Academy (Jefferson County), was named as the 2019 Kentucky Teacher of the Year at a ceremony in Frankfort May 15. Tiffany Marsh, left, of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Fayette County), was named the 2019 Kentucky High School Teacher of the Year. NyRee Clayton-Taylor, right, of Phillis Wheatley Elementary (Jefferson County), was named the 2019 Kentucky Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, May 15, 2018

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – The Kentucky Department of Education and Valvoline Inc., sponsors of the Kentucky Teacher Awards, have opened nominations for the 2020 Kentucky Teacher Awards.

Nominations may be submitted electronically by visiting the 2020 Kentucky Teacher of the Year website at kentuckytoy.com. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 15. Any full-time public school teacher in the state with at least three years of experience is eligible. Teachers may be nominated by students, parents, teaching peers, principals, superintendents or anyone from the community who has an interest in honoring an outstanding educator.

All nominated teachers are required to complete a formal application, which must be submitted by March 8. Judging will take place in March by a blue ribbon panel of education professionals from around the state. As many as 24 Valvoline Teacher Achievement Award winners will be announced in the spring.

Following site visits with nine semifinalists in April and personal interviews with the top three candidates, the Kentucky Teacher of the Year will be announced in Frankfort. At that time, all 24 teachers will be honored with cash awards and other mementos. Teacher Achievement Award winners will receive a cash gift of $500; two of the three finalists will receive a cash gift of $3,000; and the Teacher of the Year will receive a cash prize of $10,000, along with an exciting ambassadorship opportunity. The Kentucky Teacher of the Year will represent the state in the National Teacher of the Year competition.

Now in its 19th year, the Kentucky Teacher Awards program is an innovative collaboration between private industry and public education.