The LINK nky Educator of the Week contest recognizes and celebrates the incredible educators who go above and beyond for Northern Kentucky students every day.
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.
LINK nky’s Educator of the Week is sponsored by Gateway Community & Technical College. Each weekly winner will advance to the Educator of the Semester contest, where readers will vote to select one outstanding educator to receive a $100 gift card from Gateway to help purchase classroom supplies, decorations and other school essentials.
Click here for a full list of official rules and to nominate an educator.
The Educators
Educator: Hailey Anderson
Role: Teacher at Ballyshannon Middle School
Nominators: Ellen Silvers
Why Silvers nominated Anderson:
I am nominating Ms. Anderson because she makes what I thought I would never like (science) into one of my most fun classes every day. Ms. Anderson makes science class super engaging and fun. One of my favorite things we did was when we acted out different kinds of particles moving. It seems like not an interesting topic, but she first taught us how they move, and then we did it! It was silly but helpful, and it led me to understand the topic more. She always helps us when we are struggling, and her room is super fun with lots of decorations and LED lights that we change the color based on what we are doing. Ms. Anderson is the definition of a cool teacher!
Educator: Sarah Steffen
Role: Teacher at Cooper High School
Nominator: Paisley Steffen
Why Paisley nominated Sarah:
I am nominating Mrs. Steffen because, number 1, she is an amazing mom, and she takes care of me and is always happy. Number 2, my teammates have her as a teacher, and they talk about her, but all they say is good things about her. She has been teaching for a while, and all of her students have loved her because I got to meet all of them.
Educator: Abby Merz
Role: Teacher at Covington Latin School
Nominators: Keaton Harris
Why Harris nominated Merz: Katie is a fantastic teacher. She’s taught 3rd grade for 20 years and has always put her students first.
Katie goes above and beyond for her students inside and outside the classroom. She’s worked at St. Mary for 20 years and has made a positive impact on the community.
Now it’s time to vote
Voting closes at 3 p.m. on Nov. 16.
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.