A Knox County teacher has been selected as one of fifteen educators to participate in a Teacher Advisory Council established by the Hope Street Group.
Elizabeth Lovett, a 26-year veteran and an itinerant elementary choir director for Knox County Public Schools, will represent the school district and state among the group. The 2017-2019 council features educators from the Hope Street Group’s National, Hawaii, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee fellows programs.
Hailing from eight states, spanning a variety of experiences in education, the 2017-2019 TAC Members will represent their communities, their Fellows programs and excellence in teacher leadership overall, with extracurricular work streams that include reflection on their HSG experiences, evaluating current HSG programming and connecting current and alumni Teacher Fellows across the country with each other and with their wider professional learning networks. They will conduct bi-monthly virtual meetings, with in-personal convenings about three times per year.
Lovett served as a Kentucky State Teacher Fellow in 2015-2017, leading peer engagement including data collections, decision-maker engagement, and strategic communications like Twitter chats, op-eds and blogs.
“My motivating factor for applying to TAC was the opportunity to enhance teacher voice that will impact education issues not only in Kentucky but nationwide,” said Lovett.
Lovett was a semifinalist for the 2015 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, recipient of the Ashland Teacher Achievement Award. She participated in the Innovative Teacher Leader Cohort, is President for KEA’s Upper Cumberland Education Association, Knox County Education Association, ST 21 State KEPAC Chair, 2015-2017 Kentucky State Teacher Fellow HSG and PLN facilitator for Music group on NEA 360 edCommunities.
“This honor is a reflection of the outstanding education community that I am a part of here in the Knox County Public School District and as a member of the Kentucky Education Association,” said Lovett.
“KCPS has given me the foundation, support, and confidence to step out and grow as a teacher leader in countless ways. KEA has given my teacher leadership confidence wings to soar and grow with the countless leadership opportunities and trainings, and most important of all, given me a voice to stand for and with my fellow educators across the state. I am humbled and honored to be able to continue working with the Hope Street Group as a member of the National Teacher Advisory Council, and hope that you are able to share this news with others.”
Hope Street Group is a national nonpartisan organization that works to ensure every American will have access to tools and options leading to economic opportunity and prosperity. First coordinating cohorts of National Teacher Fellows in 2012, HSG launched its State Teacher Fellows program in Kentucky in 2013 with proven success, replicating the model in Hawai’i in 2014, North Carolina and Tennessee in 2015, and in Utah and Arizona this year.