Russell County's Donnie Wilkerson is one of 10 finalists for this year's honor and 92.7 the Wave will carry the announcement live tomorrow morning at 9:30amCT. The stream can be heard on air at 92.7, online at ridingthewave.com and on our app.

10 outstanding teachers from across the state are semifinalists for the 2024 Kentucky Teacher of the Year award, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) announced Aug. 14.

The teachers are in the running to be named as Elementary, Middle, and High School Teacher of the Year, one of whom will be named the overall 2024 Kentucky Teacher of Year. Winners will be announced Sept. 13 at a ceremony in Frankfort.

Semifinalists for the elementary Teacher of the Year are:
Katie Hale, Ponderosa Elementary (Boyd County)

Deanna Landrum, Southgate Public School (Southgate Independent)

Justin Moreschi, Klondike Lane Elementary (Jefferson County) and

Donnie Wilkerson, Jamestown Elementary (Russell County).

The middle school semifinalists are:

Kevin Dailey, Ballyshannon Middle (Boone County)

Doug Henry, Bullitt Lick Middle (Bullitt County) and 

Kimberly Thompson, Eastside Middle (Bullitt County).

The high school semifinalists are:

Ryan Davis, Waggener High (Jefferson County)

Luke Glaser, Hazard High (Hazard Independent) and 

Kumar Rashad, Breckinridge Metropolitan High (Jefferson County).

The 10 semifinalists are among 22 educators in Kentucky who were named 2024 Teacher Achievement Award winners in July.

“Each of these award-winning teachers are dedicated to uplifting their students, their school communities and the education profession as a whole,” said Kentucky Commissioner of Education Jason E. Glass. “I want to congratulate them for receiving this prestigious recognition and thank them for the hard work that has led them here. They represent more than 40,000 of their colleagues from every school district in Kentucky who give of themselves every day to help students.”

Semifinalists were chosen based on their application scores from the first round of judging, which was conducted by a blue-ribbon panel of veteran education professionals. Applications included nominees’ teaching philosophies, teaching experiences, involvement in their communities and letters of recommendation.

Interviews with the 10 semifinalists, in combination with their application scores, will result in the selection of the 2024 Elementary, Middle and High School Teacher of the Year. From those three, the finalist with the highest overall score will be named the 2024 Kentucky Teacher of the Year and go on to represent the state in the 2024 National Teacher of the Year competition. The overall winner also will receive a $10,000 cash gift, a glass award and professional sabbatical opportunity or classroom grant coordinated by KDE.

Cash awards of $2,750 each and glass awards will be presented to the other Kentucky Teacher of the Year finalists. Nineteen of the other Kentucky Teacher Achievement Award winners will receive a $500 cash award and certificate.

Valvoline™ and Valvoline Global™, proud sponsors of the Kentucky Teacher Achievement Awards and the Kentucky Teacher of the Year Program, will present the 22 recipients of the Teacher Achievement Award with $25,000 total in cash awards during the awards ceremony in Frankfort on Sept. 13.