Kentucky Dept. of Education names 2024 Teacher of the Year

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) - The 2024 Kentucky Teacher of the Year was announced Wednesday morning at the Capitol Building.

The annual event aims to highlight the key role educators play in the lives of our future generations.

The Kentucky Department of Education said they received more than 1,000 nominations this year. They said there was at least one nomination from every school district in the state.

Ten semi-finalists were chosen for a chance to win the 2024 Kentucky Teacher of the Year award.

Ahead of the big announcement, the winners of the elementary, middle and high school Teacher of the Year awards were announced. Each comes from districts all over the state, including, but not limited to, Boone, Bullitt, Jefferson and Russell Counties.

The overall Teacher of the Year award was given to Kevin Dailey. Dailey is a U.S. History teacher at Ballyshannon Middle in Boone County.

Aside from the award, Dailey also received a $10,000 check and will spend the next year working closely with KDE to amplify and elevate education.

“All of our children, no matter who they are, deserve to be seen, heard, welcomed and safe in every space that they exist in. My goal is to help advocate for those kids. For our kids who maybe don’t always have someone in their corner,” said Dailey.

The nomination period for the 2025 Kentucky Teacher of the Year opens on November 1.

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