Steven Thomas didn’t take the “traditional” route to become the educator he is today. After graduating high school, Thomas did not initially attend college with the goal of becoming a teacher. Instead, he chose to apply the skills he learned in his agriculture classes, under teachers William Wallace Evans and Matt Chaliff at Taylor County High School, to pursue a career in welding.
Victoria Mohon, an agriculture teacher at Christian County High School, helps her students work on both their strengths and weaknesses, as well as providing support for them beyond high school.
Tina Henry, a special education teacher at Boyle County High School and a 2023 Kentucky Teacher Achievement Award winner, gives each of her students a chance to shine.
In his AP Psychology class, Eddie Grove’s favorite unit to teach is on memory.
As an English, arts and humanities teacher in Eastern Kentucky, Cathy Conley is no stranger to adversity. But the most trying year for Conley was during the historic flooding in July 2022.
In her 28 years as an educator, Rhoda Whitaker has taught at the elementary, middle and high school levels, but she found her calling as a teacher at Whitesburg Middle School (Letcher County) with students with disabilities.
If you ask 8th-grade social studies teacher Justin Mitchell what lesson defines his teaching, he’ll say Colonial America. “This is such a crucial and complex period of time, with us going from being well under the rule of Great Britain to being our own country in just 20 years.” said Mitchell. But in order to get his students to fully understand and resonate with the founding of America, he knew he couldn’t just stick to worksheets and note-taking.
Danielle Hicks began her college experience as a pre-med student, but she soon discovered that she could not stand the sight of blood. After exploring different career paths, Hicks found her passion for education.
Nathaniel Green’s classroom is fueled on inclusivity and community. Green started his career teaching English in South Korea. Now, he is a middle school social studies teacher at Newport High School (Newport Independent).
Angela Dilts-Pollock values not only educating her students, but also helping them to grow into who they are and who they will become. “It’s my job to help students discover who they are and how to be the best version of themselves,” said Pollock. “Teaching of content comes after, when students feel safe in my classroom and that I care about them as humans.”