By Ronnie Ellis / CNHI News Writer
Middle school teachers from Corbin Independent Schools and Rockcastle County and a Berea Independent Schools high school teacher are among nine semifinalists for Kentucky Teacher of the Year awards.
Winners will be named for Elementary, Middle School and High School as well as an overall 2010 Kentucky Teacher Award, at a ceremony on Oct. 23 in Frankfort.
Nominees for Elementary Teacher of the Year are Jan Vaughn Horn, Shearer Elementary, Clark County; Phyllis Ray, Central Elementary, Graves County; and James Carter, McKinney Elementary, Lincoln County.
Nominated for Middle School Teacher of the Year are Melissa Evans, Corbin Middle, Corbin Independent; Melissa Singleton, Rockcastle County Middle School; and Kerry Stephenson Conrad, Phillip A. Sharp Middle School, Pendleton County.
The high school nominees are Sally Robinson, Berea Community High School; Durell “Butch” Hamm, Larry A. Ryle High School, Boone County; and Ronda Fields, Ballard High School, Jefferson County.
The nominees were chosen from among 24 educators named 2010 Ashland, Inc. Teacher Achievement Awards winners based on scores from a blue-ribbon panel of educators.
The ultimate winners will be chosen after classroom visits and personal interviews with each nominee. The 2010 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Award winner will represent the state in the 2010 National Teacher of the Year Award.
Since 1988, Ashland Inc. has recognized outstanding Kentucky teachers through its Teacher Achievement Awards Program, awarding more than $575,000 to some 375 teachers of grades K through 12.
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