(FRANKFORT, Ky.) -- Jeffrey Wright, a science teacher at Jefferson County's Male High School, has been named the 2006 Kentucky Teacher of the Year.
The announcement was made today at a ceremony held in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort by the Kentucky Department of Education and Ashland Inc. Gov. Ernie Fletcher, Secretary of Education Virginia Fox, Education Commissioner Gene Wilhoit and Ashland Chairman and CEO Jim O’Brien were on hand to make the presentation.
Kelli Lynnette Stice, a primary teacher at W. R. McNeill Elementary in the Bowling Green Independent school district, was named the 2006 Elementary School Teacher of the Year, while Pam Jackson, a language arts teacher at Elkhorn Middle School in Franklin County, was named the 2006 Middle School Teacher of the Year.
The three join 21 other teachers from across the state honored with 2006 Ashland Inc. Teacher Achievement Awards. Stice and Jackson received $3,000 each and a customized art-glass vase from Ashland Inc., while Wright received $10,000 and a commemorative crystal glass bowl. In addition, the Department of Education will provide a sabbatical or suitable alternative to Wright, who also will represent the state in the 2006 National Teacher of the Year competition. The remaining 21 winners each received $500 cash awards. All 24 teachers received framed certificates and were honored at a luncheon following the ceremony.
KELLI LYNETTE STICE
Stice has eight years’ teaching experience. She earned her bachelor's and master’s degrees from Western Kentucky University and holds National Board Certification as an early childhood generalist. Stice serves as McNeill’s School Technology Integration Specialist, and she has served on a variety of school-betterment committees. She sponsors McNeill’s Student Technology Leadership Program and is a member of the Kentucky and National Education Associations and the Kentucky Association of National Board Certified Teachers. She was twice named W.R. McNeill Elementary Teacher of the Year and to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. She is a three-time recipient of Bowling Green Independent schools' “Beyond the Call Award” and earned honorable mention in the Classroom Connect Internet Educator of the Year Program.
PAM JACKSON
Jackson has 34 years’ teaching experience, and for the last five she’s taught language arts to sixth-grade students. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Spalding University and a master’s degree at Butler University. Jackson has served as a trainer and presenter for fellow teachers and as a resource teacher in the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program (KTIP). She wrote core content for the Kentucky Assistive Technology Service (KATS) test and has served on the school-based decision making council. Her professional affiliations include the Franklin County, Kentucky and National Education Associations; the National Council of Teachers of English and Kentucky Optimists International. As a principal, she was a member of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, the Association of School Curriculum Development and Phi Delta Kappa.
JEFFREY WRIGHT
Wright has 15 years’ teaching experience, with six in his present position as a science teacher. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Bellarmine University and a master’s degree at the University of Louisville. Wright is certified by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. He chairs the Physics Alliance and serves as a Kentucky Teacher Internship Program (KTIP) resource teacher and a National Board Certification mentor teacher. His professional affiliations include the National Science Teachers and National Education Associations; Kentucky Association of Physics Teachers; Louisville Area Chemistry and Physics Alliances; LATTICE Technology Alliance and the Louisville Area Amateur Astronomers. He also is a representative to the school-based decision making council. He has earned numerous honors, most recently receiving the Disney Hand National Teacher Award.
This is the fifth year that Ashland Inc. and the Kentucky Department of Education have sponsored the Kentucky Teacher Awards. Applications for the program were distributed across the state, and the first tier of the selection process was completed in early August, with 24 teachers selected as 2006 Ashland Inc. Teacher Achievement Award winners. Nine top scorers — three each from the elementary, middle school and high school levels — were selected, and teams of educators visited their classrooms to view them at work and to conduct personal interviews. From those nine, three were selected as 2006 Kentucky Teachers of the Year. The overall Kentucky Teacher of the Year then was selected based on a compilation of scores from all phases of the judging.
Ashland Inc. has recognized outstanding Kentucky teachers with its Teacher Achievement Awards since 1988. Nearly $500,000 has been awarded to nearly 300 teachers in grades K to 12.
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