Data shows that the most significant influence on a child’s ability to learn and grow is the presence of an effective teacher.  Knowing this, Kingsport City Schools works hard to hire, retain, and develop the very best educators so that all of Kingsport’s children have access to excellent teaching.  Great teachers set the scene for great things to happen in the classroom.

This past week, KCS recognized some of our very best educators, as the 2018 Teachers of the Year were honored… this year’s best of the best!

The Saturday Six shines a spotlight on this year’s school and district-wide winners, recognizing them for their effort, their excellence, and their commitment to providing students a world-class educational experience.  Congratulations to the 2018 KCS Teachers of the Year!

Each year, the staff at every KCS school votes to select the teacher most deserving of their school-level Teacher of the Year award.  This recognition is especially significant, as it represents a peer-selected honor given by co-workers.  The school-level winners for 2018 year are:

Pre-K-4th Grade:  Jayson Arnold (3rd Grade, Washington), Carrie Conkin (4th Grade, Johnson), Randy Elam (Pre-K, Roosevelt), Ami Frye (4th Grade, Jefferson), Whitney Gibson (2nd Grade, Jackson), Sarah Hall (Pre-K, Palmer Center), and Patti Smith (1st Grade, Lincoln).

5th-8th Grade:  Jeff Frye (7th Grade Social Studies, Robinson), Leslie Hardin (7th and 8th Grade English/Language Arts, Sevier), Erica Johnson (7th Grade English/Language Arts, Robinson), John Mallick (8th Grade Social Studies, Sevier), PJ Ryan (5th Grade, Kennedy), and Amanda Senn (5th Grade, Adams).

9th-12th Grade:  Allison Berry (English, D-B), Carmen Brooks (English, D-B), Luke Douthat (Science, D-B), Jana Engle (World Language, D-B), Melissa Fields (English, D-B), Sara Shaffer (Digital Arts, D-B EXCEL), and Elizabeth Wilkins (World Language, D-B).

Once school-level winners are announced, a committee of educators and administrators then considers these phenomenal educators and completes the difficult task of selecting the grade-band winners for the entire district.  With so many excellent teachers, it is an incredibly difficult task.  This year’s district Teachers of the Year are truly outstanding.  Congratulations to the 2018 KCS District Teachers of the Year!

Pre-K-4:  Ami Frye (4th grade, Jefferson) – Mrs. Frye has a total of sixteen years teaching experience, with eight years in her present position.  She is currently a Literacy Teacher Leader, Lead Mentor Teacher, and co-leader of the Literacy committee at Jefferson Elementary.  She has also served as a member of the Jefferson Leadership team.  She was awarded the Excellence in Leadership Award from Jefferson Elementary during the 2016-17 school year.  This is the second time Mrs. Frye has been selected as a District Teacher of the Year; the first was in 1995-96 at Gordon County Schools (GA).

5th-8th Grade:  Erica Johnson (7th grade English/Language Arts, Robinson) – Mrs. Johnson has a total of eight years teaching experience, with five in her present position.  She is currently serving as Canvas Team Leader, “We are RNR” Action team representative, and yearbook sponsor at Robinson.  She has served on the New Teacher committee, Language Arts department chair, and has been a member of the RNR Leadership team.  Mrs. Johnson was the recipient of the KCS “Learning Leader” Leadership Award during the 2016-17 school year.

9th-12th Grade:  Sara Shaffer (Digital Arts, D-B EXCEL) – Ms. Shaffer has a total of nine years teaching experience, with two in her present position.  She is currently serving as Canvas Lead Teacher, Project-Based Learning coordinator, and webmaster at D-B EXCEL.  Ms. Shaffer is also a member of the KCS STREAM Leadership team.  She was selected to participate in the Competency-Based Education pilot through the TN Department of Education, as well as the Tennessee Micro-Credential pilot.  She was selected to be a member of the 2017-18 Tennessee STEM Innovation Network’s (TSIN) Innovative Leaders Institute and was featured as a Teacher of the Month on the TSIN website.

Congratulations to all of the KCS Teachers of the Year!