A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Teachers, administrators honored at Education Excellence Celebration for ‘Brighter Future for NKY’


Outstanding school teachers and administrators are honored annually at the Excellence in Education Celebration held each year by the Northern Kentucky Education Council and the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

For this year’s event, “A Brighter Future for Northern Kentucky,” nearly 60 teachers were nominated for the Golden Apple Award alone. Then, there were the Albright awards for teacher and administrator leaders and the KET Innovative Teacher award, new this year.

The Golden Apple Award

Michelle David, Cooper High School

Michele David

Michele David

Michelle David is the media specialist at Cooper High School, who has reinvented what a true media center of the 21st Century should be: alive with learning. She has created a vibrant and exciting place for students to study, explore, learn and simply hang out. Previously, students clamored to take her world civilization and U.S. History classes because she was exciting, motivating and engaging; Michelle now brings that same level of instruction, rigor and excitement to the school media center through a maker-space, a tutoring center for writing projects, a dedicated area for teachers, and large screens with broadcast news. Michelle is also a teacher-leader for the school, and is the resident authority on technology. After just her first year as the media specialist use of the library went up over 200%! Michelle is an active member of the KY Library Association, the NKY Library Association, the KY Society for Technology in Education and an active member of the NKY Education Council’s College and Career Action Team.

Melissa Dunn, A.J. Yealy Elementary

Melissa Dunn

Melissa Dunn

Mellissa Dunn has made a difference in the daily lives of children for over 20 years, and she currently teaches fourth grade students at Yealey Elementary. Mellissa continually reevaluates and reflects on her own instruction to best understand how her students are progressing. Recently, she implemented a new classroom structure that allows her students to select from a menu of activities to provide differentiated learning experiences. Mellissa also developed student-led conferences, so that her students could participate in meaningful conversations with their parents about their academic success and future goals. By letting her students step “behind the curtain” with her and truly understand their test scores they are able to articulate their progress and take ownership of their learning. She chairs the assessment committee, works to prepare program review, and has served as the lead on several literacy initiatives. In working with various groups, she constantly asks how will this impact our students?

Aubrey Eckerlin, Ft. Wright Elementary

Aubrey Eckerlin

Aubrey Eckerlin

Aubrey Eckerlin teaches fifth grade English and Language Arts at Fort Wright Elementary, and she has the ability to light up a classroom with inspiration. She has created a safe and supportive learning community in which students are able to learn in a collaborative and social manner. Aubrey recognizes that learning is not a spectator sport, and she engages her students through instruction that addresses different learning styles and multiple intelligences. She also volunteers to teach the Spanish Club after school to provide students with the opportunity to explore a new language and culture. Aubrey is the lead teacher for her fifth grade team, and she ensures team participation and instructional support within the grade and the school. She was selected as the first choice peer observer by every teacher in the building this year for their professional evaluations.

Peggy Herald, Grant’s Lick Elementary

Peggy Herald

Peggy Herald

Peggy Herald is a fifth grade teacher at Grant’s Lick Elementary and has 24 years of teaching experience. By providing meaningful learning opportunities for her students, she prepares her students to be thinkers, problem solvers and doers in a world of global poverty, economic recessions and international conflicts. Peggy’s nominator writes, “Walking into Peggy Herald’s fifth grade classroom is like walking into a secret society of powerful learners.” Peggy established an annual 3 consecutive day multi-cultural fair for her school through grant money she raised so that all students, teachers and families could experience different cultures from around the world, free of charge.
Peggy’s colleagues view her as a lighthouse for the school; she brings positive energy into the classroom every day. Knowing that many students in her school find it difficult to make ends meet, she solicits donations from teachers and friends each year for her annual Christmas Store, which allows students to buy presents for their families while raising funds for an organization dedicated to ending child slavery. Peggy has also connected with the community at large by creating an opera experience, designed by students and performed at the school, which continues to this day after 15 years.

Elizabeth Kamradt, Conner Middle School

Elizabeth Kamradt

Elizabeth Kamradt

Beth Kamradt leads the Project Based Learning Academy at Connor Middle School, which re-engages at-risk learners by immersing them in a project-based learning environment. Prior to teaching for the past 10 years, she worked in corporate America, where she rose to the rank of Vice President of General Electric. Her true passion, however, was teaching, and she now works with and for her students on nights, weekends and even over the summer. The youth she serves have increased their academic scores, reduced their truancy rates from 25% to 0% and see themselves as problem-solvers. In partnership with her students, she has developed projects based on a variety of subjects that are a need for the school or the community. Projects have included nutrition, bee colony collapse, greenhouse renovation, historical cultural exploration, drones, bike building, and the stock market. Tools and guidance for problem-solving are shared but the sole responsibility for determining a viable solution is student driven. Beth has raised more than $20,000 to fund initiatives to enhance the Academy. She received the Boone County “Break the Mold” award for going above and beyond her duties associated with teaching.

William Kidwell, Gray Middle School

William Kidwell>

William Kidwell>

Bill Kidwell is the Band Director for Gray Middle School and has taught for 28 years. He is highly respected by his peers and builds exceedingly strong relationships with students and parents. To promote a heightened experience for students, he formed an 8th grade advanced band, where students must either audition for select band or play in a chamber ensemble. He also worked with the high school band director to initiate the Band Buddies program, which helps to increase the band program across the two buildings, as well as improve the social-emotional development of the students in both schools. He is a veteran teacher who demonstrates a growth mindset. He is willing to take risks and is always looking for innovative ideas for students. To remove barriers to learning, Bill started the United Sound Project, which provides students with learning difficulties or physical challenges with the opportunity to learn how to play an instrument with help from a peer. He is a building leader and has served on the Site Based Decision Making Council, is a current member of the Deep Tell Survey Committee, and has served as President of District 6 of the Kentucky Music Educators’ Association.

Amanda Lewis, Kenton County Academies of Innovation and Technology

Amanda Lewis

Amanda Lewis

Amanda Lewis is the Informatics and Media Arts teacher in the Kenton County Academies of Innovation and Technology, and has taught for nine years. She is an exceptional team member and is a significant reason that the Media Arts Academy is the most popular of the ten Academies offered. She brings creativity and innovation to the Academies and is the first teacher in the state to be selected to teach the new Project Lead the Way Computer Science curriculum. She accepts projects from businesses to provide real world experiences for her students. Amanda formed a partnership with Northern Kentucky University’s College of Informatics where current undergraduate students offer support and encouragement to current Informatics Academy students. In addition to this partnership, Amanda has been instrumental in gaining over 35 business members for the Media Arts and Informatics Academies advisory panel. She uses motivational based education practices as well as project based learning to help students meet their goals and propel them to the next level.


Sherry Lindberg, Glen O Swing Elementary

Sherry Lindberg

Sherry Lindberg

Sherry Lindberg is a fifth grade social studies teacher and Assistant Principal at Glenn O. Swing Elementary, with 16 years of experience as an educator. Through her dynamic presentation style, she knows how to engage her students by developing her teaching into a story for the students. She researches the facts and makes them come alive so that each student can connect personally with the lessons. Her nominator writes. “As Sherry teaches you feel you are watching a play unfold”. Sherry focuses on the whole student and developing skills that will serve them well beyond the fifth grade classroom. Her classroom is used as a model for teachers for high levels of student engagement and academic rigor. She has a gift of teaching, and more importantly, a gift of making a lasting connection with every student she meets.

Jennifer Martin, A.J. Lindeman Elementary

Jennifer Martin

Jennifer Martin

Jennifer Martin is a veteran kindergarten teacher at A.J. Lindeman Elementary, with 20 years of teaching experience. In her class, you can expect to see students finger writing letters in colored sand, dancing their wiggles out, or talking and listening to each other in a community circle. With only 20% of her students coming to school ready for Kindergarten she has worked to support the social and emotional development of students through the Second Step program, and she spent the past two summers with her colleagues implementing the United Way-Me and My School Program to prepare students for their transition to kindergarten. To encourage creative thinking, she formed the Lindeman Lego Club; however she had no Legos or money to buy them. She organized a fund raiser and raised $1,600 to buy Legos for her newly formed club which has grown to serve one third of the entire school student population. When walking by her classroom you may hear her students reciting the Japanese proverb: “Little by little, bit by bit, I’m improving every day.”

Susan Morehead, Turkey Foot Middle School

Susan Moreland

Susan Moreland

Susie Morehead teaches math and algebra at Turkey Foot Middle School, where she has been a teacher since 1990. She has high expectations for her students and pushes them to achieve at high levels, while preparing them for high school and beyond. She serves as the lead teacher for eighth grade math in the district, and she has also served as a national model. The Teaching Channel filmed her class to capture her process of using student work to identify misconceptions students have about math. In addition to her teacher association work in the district, she serves on the school professional development committee and helps to guide the work of the math department.


Donna Pollard, Southern Elementary

Donna Pollard

Donna Pollard

Donna Pollard teaches students with moderate to severe disabilities at Southern Elementary and has eight years of teaching experience. She serves as lead teacher for the Autism Training Center Classroom through the NKY Co-Op, and the University of Louisville, KY Autism Center. Donna secured assistance from A Step Ahead which provided guidance in the establishment of a sensory room for the school and then worked on the procedures and offered training on use. Donna creates plans for each of her students that maximize their ability to access information based on their individual needs and disabilities. She keeps her lessons engaging and motivating, for example having a farmer bring a pig to school while teaching a unit on Charlotte’s Web because the majority of her children had never seen a live pig before. She demonstrates her belief that family is the primary contributing factor to student success, and maintains close contact with the families of her students through almost daily communication.

Caitlin Sullivan, Walton-Verona High School

Caitlyn Sullivan

Caitlyn Sullivan

Caitlyn Sullivan teaches special education at Walton-Verona High School,
and has 10 years of teaching experience. She has a variety of resources in her classroom to help her students master academic standards and lifelong skills, including a Smart board, a washer and dryer, a kitchen, and computers. Caitlyn’s students prepare staff lunches several times a year. The students prepare flyers with meal choices, take orders and payments from the staff, create the grocery list, purchase the groceries, prepare the meals, package and deliver. An extension of the staff meals is the Chef Buddies program where Caitlyn’s students partner with the students in culinary class to complete recipes. She also collaborates with the agriculture teacher in floral design for her students and invites community members such as a local farmer or a retired science teacher to work with the class on different lessons. Caitlyn constantly engages her students in activities that develop social, occupational and independent living skills through integrating the KY Employability Standards in her instruction and networking with community partners for students to gain experience by working at local businesses.

Cathy Wolff, Beechwood Elementary

Cathy Wolff

Cathy Wolff

Cathy Wolff teaches first grade at Beechwood Elementary School, and has served 32 years as an educator. A caring, talented and dedicated teacher, she makes first grade a magical experience for each of her students. Cathy frequently develops classroom procedures and teaches concepts through songs and dances, many of which stick with her students long after they leave her classroom. Her students are often found participating in plays, singing songs and reciting poems. Cathy builds positive relationships and collaborates with students, parents, colleagues and community partners as part of the learning process. She engages family and community members through classroom plays and performances, grandparents’ breakfasts, and a partnership with Blessed Sacrament called Blessed Buddies. Cathy provides leadership within the school and the community, and was chosen by her fellow teachers to represent Beechwood Elementary School in receiving the National Blue Ribbon Award in Washington, DC. Students know that they are genuinely loved when they are part of her class, which she affectionately terms, “The Wolff Den.”

A.D. Albright Outstanding Teacher of the Year

Kyle Holloway

Kyle Holloway

Kyle Holloway is the STEAM Lab teacher at Erpenbeck Elementary where he was previously a 5th grade teacher. He uses programming and a variety of resources in Scienc, technology, Engineering, Arts and Math to help his students explore, create, engineer and re-engineer. Many struggling students become inspired through his innovative and hands-on teaching methods.

Regina Egbers

Regina Egbers

KET Innovative Teacher Award
This first-time award, recognizing an educator who uses KET digital instructional resources to foster students, went to Regina Egbers of Gray Middle School

The Dr. Robert Storer/Toyota Business Engagement Collaboration Award
This award honors an educator who goes above and beyond to create collaborative business partnerships within their school or district. This year’s recipient was Karen Cheser, CAO and deputy superintendent of Boone County Schools.

Scott Alter

Scott Alter

A.D. Albright Outstanding Administrator
Scott Alter is principal at Glen O Swing Elementary, honored for consistently improving the educational experience for students, faculty and parents. “Leadership is critical in business and in education,” his presenter said. “Scott Alter understand that each of his children must achieve their personal best. He leads by example and with a Can-Do Attitude that has resulted in an incredible increase in academic achievement by the children.”

Next: The student honorees at the the Excellence in Education Celebration.

Also see previous Trib story about Lifetime Achievement and Champion of Education awards.


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