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. “Each recipient has demonstrated their dedication to the teaching profession, and I want to thank them for their time and talent. With the help of great teachers like these, we are one step closer to meeting the vision for education in the state, which is Kansas leads the world in the success of each student. Kansas is lucky to have such quality teachers in its classrooms.”
As recipients of the Kansas Horizon Award, these educators are invited to KEEN, a network of educators from around the state who have been formally recognized for exemplary performance. Members of KEEN have an opportunity to network with other outstanding educators and participate in several professional development programs throughout the year.