By Trish Svoboda

The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) announced thirty-two Kansas educators are being honored for their exceptional teaching skills through the 2024 Kansas Horizon Award program.

The award recipients will receive recognition at a special ceremony during the Kansas Exemplary Educators Network (KEEN) State Education Conference on Feb. 23 in Topeka.

Sponsored by KSDE, the Horizon Award program gives each school district in the state the opportunity to nominate one elementary and one secondary teacher for the award. A teacher may qualify after successfully completing their first year of teaching, and have demonstrated outstanding performance.

The competition is regional, with four regions corresponding to the state’s U.S. congressional districts, and each region may select four elementary teachers and four secondary teachers for the award.

The recipients of the 2024 Kansas Horizon Award were notified by Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson