Perhaps the most joyful part of the role of education commissioner is the ability to show thanks to so many people who are involved in educating and supporting our children across the Commonwealth.

Robbie Fletcher

Kentucky Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher

The past year has been filled with these celebrations, including the naming of Kentucky’s latest winner of the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award, Sydney Newton of Taylor County High School. The excitement on her face when she learned she won what is known as the “Oscars of Teaching” and a $25,000 cash award was one of the highlights of 2025. Speaking with several of her students during the ceremony in December, it was clear Newton makes a tremendous impact on them and the entire school.

Seeing several previous Kentucky Milken Award winners at the ceremony was also a joy, especially because that shows how many high-quality educators are in Kentucky educators. Visiting with educators across the state and watching the amazing things happening in their classrooms, I see so many are deserving of recognition. That is why it is always rewarding when we at the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) have the opportunity to celebrate educators, including the Kentucky Teacher of the Year ceremony each year. Exciting things are ahead for 2026 honoree Michelle Gross of Spencer County, and I look forward to see what she does with her platform.

We have many other occasions at KDE throughout the year that are filled with joy and celebration about the successes of education in Kentucky; too many to list, in fact. The recent class of educators in the Kentucky Exemplary Educators Program and our GoTeachKY ambassadors are just a couple of recent examples

I am also thankful for the opportunities I have to honor not just educators, but the support staff members who make our schools run smoothly. The most recent celebrations of our Kentucky Education Support Staff Professional Award were early in the year – honoring Latonia Elementary School (Covington Independent) Administrative Assistant Kim Frank for her contributions to the school’s positive culture and Taylor County bus driver Sam Graham for six decades of dedicated service to the community with our 2025 awards – and I am certainly looking forward to the next round of honorees and how they make their districts better.

Teachers and support staff members change lives, and when we have the opportunity to celebrate our educators and the people who make our schools a fun and worthwhile place to be, it is a great day.

Chronic Absenteeism

As we begin the new year, we are beginning new efforts in our ongoing initiative to address chronic absenteeism in our schools. The data we’ve seen from the last school year indicates we are seeing movement in getting our kids back in the classroom, leading to better outcomes for our students and our communities, but the work is certainly not over.

KDE has created a new You Belong! Attendance Matters video and poster contest category for the upcoming 2026 Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP) State Championship on April 24 in Lexington.

Each year, students representing schools from all corners of Kentucky demonstrate what they can do with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). Students take part in STLP competition areas – including robotics, coding, web design and newscasting – uniting bright minds from different backgrounds and communities.

The You Belong KY! Attendance Matters contest invites K-12 public school students across the Commonwealth to create a short commercial or digital poster that highlights belonging, connection and why showing up to school matters. This contest elevates student voices while providing districts with authentic, student-created materials that support the statewide Attendance Matters campaign. We plan to share the winners on KDE’s social media channels.

Kentucky’s students excel when we offer them vibrant learning experiences that ignite their creativity and voice. This video and poster contest is a chance for our students to depict how learning is alive in their schools and communities. I’m looking forward to the impactful stories our students share.