TOPEKA – Thirty-two first-year educators from Kansas are being recognized for their outstanding teaching skills through the 2018 Kansas Horizon Award program.The award recipients were announced Jan. 9 by the Kansas State Department of Education.Area recipients included: Katie Crowsey, Lyons Middle School, Lyons USD 405; and Jessica Williams, Stafford Middle/High School, Stafford USD 349.The first-year educators will be honored at a special ceremony during the Kansas Exemplary Educators Network (KEEN) State Education Conference on Feb. 16, in Topeka.The Kansas Horizon Award program, which is sponsored by KSDE, allows all school districts in the state an opportunity to nominate one elementary and one secondary teacher for the award.To be eligible for the award, teachers must have successfully completed their first year of teaching and have performed in such a way as to distinguish themselves as outstanding.The program is a regional competition with four regions corresponding to the state’s U.S. Congressional districts. Four elementary and four secondary classroom teachers may be selected for the award from each region.Recipients of the 2018 Kansas Horizon Award were notified of their selection by Kansas Commissioner of Education Randy Watson. “I want to congratulate these outstanding teachers,” Watson said.