(FRANKFORT, Ky.) -- Nine outstanding teachers from around the state – three elementary school teachers, three middle school teachers and three high school teachers -- have been named semifinalists for the 2006 Kentucky Teacher of the Year award, the Kentucky Department of Education and Ashland Inc. announced today.
Winners of the Elementary, Middle and High School Teacher of the Year, as well as the overall 2006 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, will be announced at a ceremony in Frankfort on October 11 in the State Capitol Building.
Competing for Elementary Teacher of the Year are:
- Kelli Lynnette Stice, W.R. McNeill Elementary, Bowling Green Independent
- Paige Mayfield Brown, Mapleton Elementary, Montgomery County
- Judy VanHook, Woodstock Elementary, Pulaski County.
Middle school semifinalists are:
- Mary Jane Newton, Hancock County Middle
- Jennifer Wells Phipps, Corbin Middle
- Pam Jackson, Elkhorn Middle, Franklin County
In the high school category, the semifinalists are:
- Ellen Muncy Douglas, North Hardin High
- Jeffrey A. Wright, Louisville Male High, Jefferson County
- Michelle Williamson Lustenberg, Pendleton County High
The nine semifinalists were among 24 educators who were named 2006 Ashland Inc. Teacher Achievement Award winners. They were chosen based on their scores from the first round of judging, which was conducted by a blue-ribbon panel of veteran educators in mid-August in Lexington. Applications included information on nominees’ teaching philosophies and experiences, involvement in their respective communities and letters of recommendation.
Classroom visits to each of the nine semifinalists will result in the selection of the Elementary, Middle and High School Teachers of the Year. After personal interviews are conducting, one of the final three will be selected 2006 Kentucky Teacher of the Year. This individual will represent Kentucky in the 2006 National Teacher of the Year competition.
Ashland Inc. will present all 24 Teacher Achievement Award winners with cash awards and framed certificates at the ceremony in Frankfort. The three Kentucky Teachers of the Year also will receive custom-designed glassware commemorating their honors, and all 24 educators will be recognized at a special luncheon that day.
The Kentucky Teacher of the Year Awards program combines the best elements of the Ashland Inc. Teacher Achievement Awards and the Kentucky Teacher of the Year programs. This marks the fifth year that the Department of Education and Ashland Inc. have joined together to honor Kentucky educators.
Since 1988, Ashland Inc. has recognized outstanding Kentucky teachers through its Teacher Achievement Awards Program, awarding nearly $500,000 to some 300 teachers of grades K through 12.
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