At LINK nky, we believe that educators – whether they are teachers or principals, tutors or superintendents – are at the heart of our community’s success. The Educator of the Week contest is our way of recognizing and celebrating the incredible educators who go above and beyond for Northern Kentucky students every day.
By highlighting their dedication, creativity, and impact, we hope to shine a light on the important role educators play in shaping the future—and to give our community a chance to show its appreciation for the people who make a lasting difference in our classrooms.
We’ve had lots of nominations come in, and now it’s time to start voting!
Each week, we will choose three nominees who have made an impact on their community and who represent a diverse mix of roles, grade levels, subject areas, school types, and geographic locations.
Click here for a full list of official rules and to nominate an educator.
The Educators
Educator: Megan Brown
Role: ELD teacher at Turkeyfoot Middle School
Nominator: Robert Brown
Reason Brown nominated Brown:
Mrs. Brown is an ELD teacher at Turkeyfoot Middle School. As an ELD teacher, Mrs. Brown’s primary focus is to instruct English Language Learners (ELLs), that is, students for whom English is not their first language. In her role, Mrs. Brown educates students from a wide variety of backgrounds. She works with students from dozens of nationalities and first languages. Because of her work, the students in the ELD program at Turkeyfoot Middle School are able to achieve and even excel, not just in their language acquisition, but in math, science, and other subjects.
What makes Mrs. Brown an exceptional educator is the work she puts in to ensuring that the benefits of her program expand beyond the classroom. Mrs. Brown often becomes an important point of contact for the families of her students as well, many of whom are new to the area, and often to the country. All communications that go out from her are translated into the various languages that are spoken in the homes of the students so that the families can be appropriately informed. This includes helping the families to understand details of life in Northern Kentucky that might be taken for granted, like the origins of our holiday celebrations and what a “snow day” is.
Finally, Mrs. Brown works equally as hard to celebrate the cultures that her students bring with them as she does to help them navigate our local culture. She recently had the students bring in food from their respective cultures to share with their fellow classmates. Also, her room is adorned with the flags representing all of the nations from which her students originate.
Full disclosure, Mrs. Brown is my wife and so my pride in her is probably biased, but I am certain that were you to contact the administration at Turkeyfoot, they would give an equally positive account of the work that she does.
Educator: Beth Krebs
Role: Fifth-grade teacher at St. Therese Southgate
Nominator: Kim Crittendon
Why Crittendon Nominated Krebs:
If there is such a thing as the perfect educator, it is Beth Krebs. Ms. Krebs teaches 5th-grade math at St Therese in Southgate, Ky. Ms Krebs takes the time to really get to know each student for the unique individuals they are, so that each student has the opportunity to truly reach their highest potential. She never fails to keep the parents/caregivers informed of the child’s progress and frequently sends emails highlighting the students achievements and/or good deeds for the week. She maintains a positive demeanor at all times which makes the children be able to learn in a caring and safe environment. Mrs. Krebs is truly deserving of being recognized as Link NKY educator of the week.
Educator: Sara Nesmith
Role: Middle/Lower High Schools Instructor at RISE Academy in Boone County
Nominator: Sara Shumate
Why Shumate nominated Nesmith:
Sara is a phenomenal educator and an overall wonderful human being. The students can feel her love for them and her passion for well-rounded education. She’s the one students choose when in crisis. She’s the one other educators lean on in times of turmoil.
Sara is a true leader in the classroom and beyond. I mean she has devout following! Students and colleagues adore her.
Sara has done so many great things for her students and community, from tutoring and mentoring to leading the charge on an after-school self-esteem program. She incorpates mindfulness practices into her classroom routine and really cares about the student as a whole. Those who know Sara know what it means to be loved, moved, and cared for.
Now it’s time to vote
Voting opens at 3 p.m. on Mondays and closes at 3 p.m. to following Monday. Winners will be announced on Tuesday after voting has ended.
Vote as often as you like! There’s no limit to how many times you can show support for your favorite educator during the week.
Share the voting link with friends, family, students, and coworkers—the more people who know about your nominee, the more votes they can earn!
LINK nky encourages friendly competition and community spirit. We want to see entire classrooms, schools and neighborhoods rally behind their favorite educators.
We’ll keep an eye out for spam or automated votes to make sure everyone has a fair chance, but enthusiastic community support is absolutely encouraged.