Nine Kentucky Teacher Achievement Award winners named for 2025
These teachers qualify to compete for the 2025 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Award, which will be announced in September.
Kentucky Board of Education hosts student showcase of defenses of learning
The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Office of Continuous Improvement and Support hosted a showcase of student defenses of learning during the KBE regular meeting on June 5-6.
The Imperfect Classroom: The Biggest Fan
If you’ve ever been to an event where Newport High School (Newport Independent) is involved, you’ve likely seen or heard Nate Green.
The Imperfect Classroom: Teach with Sparkle
Among the most significant qualities of a truly memorable teacher is their ability to build and maintain relationships with students and colleagues. Becky Watkins, a social studies teacher from Gallatin County High School, does that better than most.
The Imperfect Classroom: Balancing Consistency and Compassion
Every successful team needs that one person who they can always count on; the person that, no matter how bumpy the road may get, they will see it through; the person who will keep calm through chaos. At Ballyshannon Middle School in Boone County, that person is Maegan Tepe.
KDE’s Commissioner’s Student Advisory Council interviews education stakeholders on student voice
The council typically takes on a project each school year, which have included topics such as school safety and student mental health. This year, members decided to amplify student voice.
Nominations are open for 2025 Kentucky Teacher of the Year
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2025 Kentucky Teacher of the Year awards. Presented by the Kentucky Department of Education, the awards celebrate some of the Commonwealth’s most outstanding educators.
2024 Kentucky High School Teacher of the Year Kumar Rashad gives students who have been in the criminal justice system a chance at success
Every day in Kumar Rashad’s classroom is a call for urgency. “Many of my students have died or got shot and killed,” said Rashad, a mathematics teacher at Breckinridge Metropolitan High School in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), an alternative school with students who have been in the criminal justice system.
2024 Kentucky Middle School Teacher of the Year Kevin Dailey wants his students to feel supported, included
Kevin Dailey was never supposed to be a teacher. As a child, he had hopes of being an architect, taking an idea and forging it into something that would last forever. “As a child of divorce and of economic insecurity, not much was expected of me at school,” said Dailey, a at Ballyshannon Middle School (Boone County). “I would finish school, then I would paint houses like my dad and his dad before him.”
2024 Kentucky Elementary School Teacher of the Year Donnie Wilkerson helps students make lifelong memories
Donnie Wilkerson believes that as a teacher, his purpose is much greater than just going through the educational curriculum with students. He tells his students to, “Be kind, think freely and inquire often. If you think about it, that's all you need to know.”