Features

In the past, Ana Reyes made efforts to contact the teacher who helped change her life, but couldn’t find her because she couldn’t remember the teacher’s name. After connecting with KDE and...

Like many younger children in her district, Emma Stevens used to be terrified of bees. Now, as the vice-president of Greenup County High School’s FFA chapter, she is playing an instrumental role in fighting common misconceptions about bees in her community.

Donnie Piercey, a 5th-grade teacher at Stonewall Elementary School (Fayette County), has been named 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the Year and Elementary Teacher of the Year. Piercey, a 38-year-old Lexington resident, is using technology to help his school stay in touch with parents and students during remote learning.

In Jefferson County, Laura Peavley has played a prominent role in shaping the school’s Montessori program, hoping to impact future generations. A believer in reaching students where they are, she relocated to be closer to them and better understand their daily struggles.

In Fayette County, Christopher McCurry, Kentucky’s 2021 High School Teacher of the Year, uses poetry to provide an outlet for students to discover their true selves. In response to the racial unrest in the country, he developed a course that focuses on the history of Black literature in America.

Kentucky’s first state school security marshal, Ben Wilcox, was preparing for an initial round of school safety inspections when COVID-19 closed schools statewide. But he and his subordinates are moving forward with required risk assessments, working with school administrators to get in compliance with state standards.

The grandson of sharecroppers, Thomas Woods-Tucker looks to tackle equity as the Kentucky Department of Education’s first chief equity officer.

Whenever Kentucky Department of Education employees begin making their way back into KDE headquarters in Frankfort, one familiar face will have already hit the ground running in Garrard County.

New Erlanger-Elsmere Superintendent Chad Molley follows in his father’s footsteps, who also served as the district’s superintendent from 1994 to 2002.

Robert Tuck came well-prepared into the job of Butler County Schools superintendent. He knew he was hired in June, so he had time before his July 1 start date to confer with retiring Superintendent Scott Howard.