Mandy Perez, a middle school teacher at Crittenden County Schools, has been named the Kentucky Teacher of the Year.
The Kentucky Department of Education and Valvoline, co-sponsors of the award, announced Perez’s selection at an in-person ceremony held at the State Capitol Rotunda Tuesday.
According to KDE officials, Perez has taught in Crittenden County Schools throughout her 18-year teaching career and also was named the Kentucky Middle School Teacher of the Year.
An article in Kentucky Teacher, a publication of the KDE, says Perez’s father, Jose is originally from Panama and moved to the United States when he was 16 years old. Her mother Marylin is originally from Crittenden County, where Perez now teaches. After graduating from Union County High School, Perez was the first in her family to go to college.
Perez earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Murray State University. For the past 18 years, she has taught in Crittenden County Schools and currently teaches 6th-grade English and language arts at the middle school.
Now as the 2023 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, the article says Perez plans to use her role to inspire students to fall in love with reading, which has been her life’s work as an educator, helping students connect to reading as “the purest form of entertainment.”
Meanwhile, the KDE announced Kelly Gates, a teacher at Pride Elementary School in Hopkins County, was named as the 2023 Elementary Teacher of the Year. She was born and raised in Madisonville and has been teaching at the elementary school for her entire 26-year career.
