By Chris Wright Dayton High School As the Assistant Principal at Dayton High School, I have the opportunity to end each of our school days by delivering our afternoon announcements. Essentially, I can deliver any message I want to end our day and I go with “believe in who you are and where you come from.”…
By Amanda Klare Beechwood Elementary School This past Friday, I found out that Mrs. Mary Ellen Lucas had passed away at the age of 96. As I read her obituary, I learned all the details about her impressive contributions to public education. After retiring with over 40 years of teaching experience, she then went on…
The power of public schools is evident in strong commitments from our community. The power of public schools is evident in doing whatever it takes for ALL students. The power of public schools is evident in the resilience of our students. These are just a few examples of statements that are currently flooding social media…
Hello, 2021! I am so excited to meet you. I know that 2021 will be the best year yet. 2020 was a hard year for all of us. It wasn’t all bad though. If I think about everything I still had instead of what I missed, there was really a lot of good, too. I…
By Amanda Klare Beechwood Elementary School Since March, we have seen our local schools and communities rally around the Class of 2020. We’ve all driven past the signs in the front yards to recognize the seniors. We’ve all posted our own senior pictures with big hair in the 80s to the unforgivable 90s style trends…
By Chris Wright Dayton High School The 2019-20 school year, in many ways, has felt like an out-of-body experience to me. For the past 11 years, the only role that I held in P-12 education has been teacher. This year witnessed a personal dramatic shift as I moved into the roles of parent and administrator. With…
Dear Class of 2020, I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. The truth is, we have all been thinking about you a lot lately. Every time I open my Facebook I see pictures of senior years past, younger faces put there as a tribute by the adults who hope to honor you. Every time…
By Chris Wright Dayton High School This school year Dayton Independent Schools are “On A Mission!” At our staff opening day, Dayton Superintendent Jay Brewer challenged every teacher in the district to articulate their mission, or their “why” they teach, in a personal mission statement of eight words or less. As Assistant Principal of Dayton…
I am fired up about joining the team at Dayton High School. I am incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to serve as Dayton’s next assistant principal. I’ve long admired Dayton Independent School District’s mission: to Inspire, Engage, and Grow each of our students. In my experience, being able to do these three things is…
By Casey Gesenhues Woodfill Elementary School It was your typical Tuesday. My morning had already consisted of corralling my two children downstairs after having a debate regarding attire, making breakfast for the three of us, packing two lunches complete with a joke and an “I love you!” note, and ensuring everyone left the house with…
By Chris Wright Ludlow High School For the past month or so, I have had a serious case of writer’s block. I have been attempting to write a piece for “Voices from the Classroom” that shows the “other side” of the educator profession for so many of us, the role of coach. I wanted to…
By Allison Gable Holmes Middle School Teachers are all asked the same questions from people: Why did you become a teacher? or Why don’t you do something that pays more? For me, it’s simple: kids deserve it. Kids deserve teachers in their classrooms who not only care about them as a student but them as…
By Amanda Klare Beechwood Elementary School A few weeks ago, John Lewis and Partners released one of the most beautiful commercials I’ve ever seen. As the commercial starts, the now 71-year-old Elton John sits at his childhood piano and starts playing his first iconic hit, “Your Song.” We’re able to go backwards on his musical…
By Amelia Brown NKY Cooperative for Educational Services “Belief is the ignition for inspiration and the foundation for dreams.” I read those words this past summer as I was halfway through a new book: The Pepper Effect: Tap into the Magic of Creativity, Collaboration, and Innovation by Sean Gaillard. Wow. Yes. The book aims to…
By Grace McClurg Ludlow High School/Gatton Academy During the past few weeks, my living room has become an entwinement of both my past and future. Elementary school photos look down on boxes of bedding intended for my new life at Gatton Academy. I will be attending Gatton this fall, an early college entrance program where…
No matter your role in education, (teacher, coach, principal, assistant, etc.) your title doesn’t even scratch the surface of the many hats you wear. “Teacher,” for example, also implies that at any moment of any day you may need to take on the duties of a nurse, counselor, secretary, mediator, or copy machine technician ….
By Amy Clancy Special to NKyTribune Walton-Verona Middle School is a somewhat rural public school, grades 5-12 with about 1500 students in the building(s) overall. In middle school, we typically have over 500 students and at times our classes have been very large – over 30 students per classroom. Walton has always maintained a family…
By Amanda Klare Beechwood Elementary Teachers aren’t supposed to have favorites, but I do. Each year I tell my students on the first day of class that I will love them all, but that my favorite person in the whole building is one of our school’s head custodians, Mr. Steve. Steve Meyers has been a…
By Melissa Insko Kenton County Future Teachers Academy So many times we, as teachers, wonder what impact we’re really having. Does the time and effort we put in actually translate to a better world in any significant way? Now? Later? Are our students actually any “better” for having been guided by us during our 50…
By Chris Wright Ludlow High School Lately there has been a national debate regarding what roles our teachers ultimately play in our schools. It is difficult to turn on the television and not find a hot button issue regarding our schools being dissected from virtually all angles. One common theme that continually arises: What is…
By Amanda Klare Beechwood Elementary Dear parents of my current and former students, Let me start by thanking you for entrusting me with your most precious belonging: your child. Over the course of the school year, your child becomes one of my “kids.” I love my students like I love my two daughters. I strive…
By Laural Huber White’s Tower Elementary I am one of the lucky ones who’s always known I was meant to be an educator. As the daughter of a teacher, I thought it was completely normal to have a full-size chalkboard, mismatched desks, and a closet full of school supplies in our basement. When neighborhood friends…
