A Knox County educator was in the spotlight at the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort on Tuesday as he joined colleagues from across the Commonwealth vying for the title of Kentucky Teacher of the Year.
Lee Edward Campbell, choir teacher for the Knox County Public Schools serving Knox County Middle and Knox Central High, earned semi-finalist ranking and recognition as one of Kentucky’s outstanding educators.
Campbell and eight other top scorers – each from the elementary, middle and high school levels – were in the running for Teacher of the Year, and teams of educators visited their classrooms to view them at work and to conduct personal interviews. From those nine, three (one from each school level) were selected as 2016 Kentucky Teachers of the Year. The selection of the overall Kentucky Teacher of the Year was based on the compilation of scores from all phases of the judging.
“I am truly humbled and honored to have been named as one of the 24 Ashland Achievement Award Recipients of 2016 and was honored to represent Knox County in the 2016 Kentucky Teacher of the Year selection process,” said Campbell.
“As an educator, I try hard to embody what I teach to my students. This honor allows me to show my students that great things come from Knox County and if they choose to be great, great things will become of them.”
Ashland Inc. and the Kentucky Department of Education co-sponsor the Kentucky Teacher Achievement Awards. Applications for the program were distributed across the state, and the first tier of the selection process was completed in August, with 24 teachers selected as 2016 Ashland Inc. Teacher Achievement Award winners.