Ashley Rogers, an agriculture educator at Nicholas County High School, was named the national New Career and Technical Teacher of the Year for 2022 at the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Career Tech Vision Conference in New Orleans Dec. 1-3, 2021.
Ashley Rogers
Rogers was the 3rd consecutive national award winner from Kentucky, following Laura Arnold, Director of Workforce Development, Nelson County Schools as 2020 national Administrator of the Year; and Tammy Camel, family and consumer sciences teacher, Rockcastle County High School, as 2021 national Carl Perkins Community Service recipient. Since 2016, Kentucky CTE educators have been finalists for national awards, with six 1st place honorees.
Three additional Kentucky Career and Technical Education (CTE) educators were finalists in the 2022 competition:
- Lauren Williams, family and consumer sciences teacher, McCracken County High School, Carl Perkins Community Service Award
- Kimberly Bellah, Associate Professor agriculture education, Murray State University Hutson School of Agriculture, Career and Technical Educator of the Year; and
- Kemaly Parr, Assistant Professor, Murray State University College of Education and Human Services, Department of Adolescent, Career and Special Education, Career and Technical Postsecondary Teacher of the Year.
Rogers was recognized, in part, for the achievements of the Nicholas County High School agriculture program under her leadership. When hired, the Nicholas County program had on average 60-65 students enrolled in agricultural courses out of 514 students in 7th through 12th grades. Now, her two-teacher department has grown the program to more than 185 students enrolled in agricultural education courses with more than 120 members
involved in the FFA organization. In the agricultural education program, 98% of graduating seniors are career ready through her program because of their passing rates on the end-of-program assessment and industry certifications.
At the 2021 Kentucky CTE Summer Program, held at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville July
20-23, five CTE educators and a business champion of CTE were recognized as Kentucky Farm Bureau Career and Technical Education Award winners. The Kentucky Association for Career and Technical Education (KACTE) conducts the annual CTE awards program, which is sponsored by the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation. The 2021 Kentucky honorees will be entered in the ACTE national award competition.
Danny Clark
Danny Clark – Kentucky Champion of Career and Technical Education
Throughout the last 50 years, Clark Machine has performed a wide variety of services such as manufacturing, building, repairing and programming for clients all over the world. Danny Clark, son of Ray and Sue Clark, founders of Clark Machine, recognized the impact his company could have on local Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and began volunteering for the engineering and manufacturing programs at Jessamine Career and Technology Center almost as soon as the programs began. He is preaches the good news of CTE to anyone who will listen, providing an invaluable ally of CTE Jessamine County.
Anna Sullinger
Anna Sullinger – Carl Perkins Community Service Award
Sullinger recognizes the importance of serving her school and local community. She inspires students to recognize, develop and lead their own projects in becoming stakeholders. This is her 15th year teaching family and consumer sciences, six and a half years at Beaumont Middle School and eight and a half years at Grant County High School. At both of these schools, Anna has taught a variety of classes/pathways within Family and Consumer Sciences, but community service projects have had a place in each course.
Tara Wolfenbarger
Tara Wolfenbarger — New Career and Technical Teacher of the Year
Agriculture is constantly changing and coming up with innovative ways to solve this problem is a continuing challenge. Agricultural educators have to change their lessons with agriculture and current technology. Wolfenbarger, agriculture teacher at Bourbon County High School, does just that. As a third year teacher she has brought innovative ideas to her school district. She was once a high school student at Bourbon County in the plant science pathway in which she currently teaches.
Kayla Godbey
Kayla Godbey — Career and Technical Administrator of the Year
Godbey is a product of CTE. She took every family and consumer sciences (FCS) course that was offered at her high school and experienced many aspects of leadership and involvement in her Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter and beyond. She taught FCS education for eight years before she became the state program consultant for FCS education at the Kentucky Department of Education, where she continues to serve CTE today. Godbey is very passionate about recruiting students to major in FCS education. She established KY FCS University, which is a two-day workshop for students to explore the daily roles and responsibilities of an FCS teacher and FCCLA adviser.
Ginny Ellington
Ginny Ellington — Lifetime Achievement Award
Ellington started her path in CTE as a family and consumer science teacher many years ago. In 1989, she accepted the position as the KY FCCLA State Adviser at the Kentucky Department of Education where she served for 11 years. Then she transitioned into the family and consumer sciences state director position where she served for four years. After her retirement, she served as the teacher educator and a lecturer for the family and consumer sciences education program at the University of Kentucky.
Elizabeth Crump
Elizabeth Crump — Career and Technical Teacher of the Year
Crump understands that student success must be facilitated with high quality programs that inspire students to be innovative and take ownership of their learning. This is her 15th year in education and fifth year as a culinary instructor with Jessamine Career Technology Center. She is a pioneer in Kentucky and national family and consumer sciences education, promoting CTE at the region, state and national levels through various professional organizations and student led associations. Crump strives to incorporate diversity, inclusion, equity, and consistency in her culinary program in order to support students’ overall well-being and academic success.
The annual Kentucky Farm Bureau Career and Technical Education Awards program conducted by KACTE seeks to recognize individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the field, programs that exemplify the highest standards, and organizations that have conducted activities to promote and expand Career and Technical Education programs.
The awards program is organized under the guidelines established by ACTE. There are 13 award categories, each with various criteria and eligibility requirements. KACTE members and individual program areas are encouraged to participate each year by submitting nominations to Laura Spiegelhalter, KACTE Awards Committee chair. The Awards Committee reviews the nominees and selects the winners. Information on awards,
the criteria and the nominations process may be viewed on-line at the KACTE website in the membership section or the ACTE website.
Leave A Comment