A middle school teacher from Henry County was chosen as the Kentucky Department of Education’s 2025 Teacher of the Year during a ceremony in the State Capitol Rotunda.
Jennifer Montgomery of Eminence Independent Middle School was one of nine finalists for the award, which saw 500 teachers nominated this year.
Three finalists were chosen in each of three categories: Elementary, middle school and high school. Besides Montgomery, who was also Middle School Teacher of the Year, the others were:
Elementary
- Angela Nicole Hardin, Peace Academy in Jefferson County.
- Scott Johnson, named Elementary Teacher of the Year, Red Cross Elementary in Barren County.
- Sarah Wallace from Robert B. Turner Elementary in Anderson County.
Middle School
- Jessica L. F. Talley, Mt. Washington Middle School in Bullitt County.
- Alicia C. Thomas, Lexington Traditional Magnet School, Fayette County.
High School
- Jamie Brown, Marion County High School, Marion County.
- Katie Blair Cecil, LaRue County High School, LaRue County.
- Hayley Dant, named High School Teacher of the Year, Randall K. Cooper High School, Boone County.
After she was announced as Teacher of the Year, Montgomery said coming from a small community is an asset and described some of the success stories from her school.
“I have a former student who is now an NFL agent, another who works for NASA, another who is a model, another who is an ambassador. These students went to a small school in a very small city and were able to achieve the dreams they had.”
Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher described the nine finalists as the best of the best.
“They represent more than 40,000 fellow teachers, who give of themselves every day to help our students achieve success.”
Six of the finalists will receive $1,500. The two who were named Teacher of the Year in their category each received a check for $3.000, while Montgomery picked up the $10,000 first prize
By Tom Latek, Kentucky Today
