NKY”s Kevin Dailey, a teacher at Ballyshannon Middle School in Boone County, updated Kentucky Board of Education members on his work while serving as the 2024 Kentucky Teacher of the Year.
One of Dailey’s main initiatives during his six-month ambassadorship with Kentucky Department of Education has been The Imperfect Classroom, a series of profiles on teachers in school districts across Kentucky.
“I’ve always had this idea that I wanted to be perfect as a teacher, and I realized I can’t be perfect,” said Dailey. “As a teacher, I can’t do all of the things that are required to be perfect as a teacher, but I can be perfectly myself, and that comes with all the imperfections that we all have.”
Dailey said the most interesting and engaging classrooms are those where the teacher creates a space and environment that is an expression of themselves, so he sought out teachers throughout the Commonwealth to highlight the “magic” they bring to the classroom.
“I interviewed the teachers themselves. I interviewed the students, and most importantly, I got to feel what it was like to be in their space; to feel what the students feel when they walk into those rooms,” he said. “And my God, was it incredible. It was amazing, and it was wildly different in every single place.”
Dailey said he received more than 100 teacher recommendations from a wide variety of grade levels and academic disciplines. He has visited 20 classrooms so far and he says his work isn’t over.
Dailey said he learned three important lessons when it came to teachers, administrators and the community:
• Teachers: You can’t prioritize everything all the time, so prioritize your time and energy in the parts of you that serve you and your students best. You are the magic of the classroom.
• Administrators: Classrooms, and by extension students, are the most successful when teachers feel trusted as professionals and valued for what they bring to the table.
• Community: There are incredible things happening in your school. Teachers are going above and beyond to support your child and community. Right now, they need your support.
Dailey also shared his experiences meeting with various education stakeholders, including government officials at the local, state and federal levels.
In May, Dailey attended the first-ever State Dinner for educators at the White House.