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: Zachary Neal
Role: Campbell County Middle School Teacher
Nominator: Adam Marotta
Reason Marotta nominated Neal:
Mr. Neal takes learning to a new level for his students. He cultivates meaningful experiences and goes beyond what is written in the text. As a department head, Mr. Neal also supports other teachers and ensures that they are successful before focusing on his own needs. Mr. Neal’s vibrant classroom has led to great achievements for both students and Campbell County Middle School as a whole. Mr. Neal sees the students first and his ability to build relationships is second to none. His dedication to education and the students of Campbell County make him extremely deserving of this award.
Educator: Danielle Dorning
Role: Second Grade teacher at New Haven Elementary
Nominator: Nick Dorning
Why Dorning Nominated Dorning:
Danielle Dorning is a dedicated 2nd Grade teacher at New Haven. She has been there for 11 years providing a great education to students of all ages. Danielle is diligent in lesson planning, caring for her students needs, communicating with parents, collaborating with co-workers & leadership, providing support for those in need, and loves to tell stories about her students and classroom. It is amazing how excited her students (of all ages) get when they see her out in public. You can tell by the students excitement that Mrs. Dorning makes a difference in the lives of her students each day. Daniele is an excellent educator who cares about her students and the parents and people of New Haven, and after 16 years, she still loves being a teacher!
Educator: Samantha Darpel
Role: Dean of Studies at Covington Latin School
Nominator: Sara Shumate
Why Shumate nominated Darpel:
Ms. Darpel is the Dean of Studies at Covington Latin School. She has been an advocate for her students for ten years now. Her students feel welcomed and loved in her classroom. Students learn more than English and Speech in her classroom. They learn collaboration, respect, and ethics.
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.