Karen Mallonee, a Spanish language teacher at College View Middle School, was named Kentucky’s 2016 Middle School Teacher of the Year during a ceremony in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building in Frankfort on October 20th.
“It is such an honor for educators across the state of Kentucky to be supported by Gov. Beshear, Ashland and Valvoline,” Mallonee said. “There are 40,000 teachers in Kentucky and to be one of three recognized today is a tremendous honor that I want to share with my Daviess County Public Schools family, my College View Middle School family and my own family, who have all supported me.”
In September, Owensboro Living posted that Mallonee had been selected as one of 24 Kentucky educators to receive the 2016 Ashland Inc. Teacher Achievement Award. The nominees were evaluated on teaching philosophies, experience, community involvement and letters of recommendation. Karen was then announced one of three finalists. Mallonee and other 2016 Teacher of the Year winners were then evaluated based on classroom visits and personal interviews by a blue-ribbon panel of veteran educators.
“Karen Mallonee is a master teacher,” said DCPS Superintendent Owens Saylor. “I’ve watched in awe as she commands the respect and attention of students while challenging them to achieve at the highest levels.” Mallonee was named Teacher of the Year at College View Middle School in June 2014 and was selected as the middle school recipient of the Daviess County Public Schools’ Great Expectations Teaching Excellence Award in August 2014.
Mallonee said the Teacher of the Year Award is wonderful, but her greatest reward is found in the classroom every day. “There are so many rewards every single day,” she said. “When a student grasps a concept – those are the real rewards. This is just the icing on the cake. My students keep me going every day. My Spanish I students who are earning high school credit are especially close to my heart because they have demonstrated their commitment and love for the Spanish language and culture. It is a privilege to cultivate these students as the seeds are planted in the sixth grade, nurtured to growth in the seventh grade and really blossom in the eighth grade.”
Those Spanish I students celebrated Mrs. Mallonnee’s award with a “fiesta” in the classroom on Wednesday.
