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1-22-25 — Educators Surprised with KSDE Horizon Award
Jan. 22, 2025 ~ On Monday, Jan. 13, Olathe West High School science teacher Dr. Steve Murray and Scarborough Elementary School first grade teacher Marie Jones learned from Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson that they were both named statewide winners of the Kansas Department of Education (KSDE) Horizon Award.
The Kansas Horizon Award program identifies and recognizes exemplary first-year teachers, pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, who perform in a way that distinguishes them as outstanding. Each school district may nominate one elementary classroom teacher and one secondary classroom teacher, and from there district finalists are eligible to win at the state level. The statewide honorees will be recognized at a luncheon at the Kansas Exemplary Educators Network conference in February.
“We are incredibly proud of Dr. Steve Murray and Marie Jones for earning the prestigious Kansas Horizon Award,” Superintendent Dr. Brent Yeager said. “They have not only impacted their students, but they have set a remarkable example for educators across the state. We congratulate them both on this well-deserved honor and are excited to see how they continue to inspire and lead in their classrooms. How exciting to have not one but two winners from Olathe Public Schools! We have the best of the best here in our district.”
District leaders stopped at Olathe West to be with Dr. Murray as he heard the news. Before Dr. Murray became a teacher, he worked in a physics lab. He shared that he discovered that he wasn't a physicist but a teacher who was good at physics. Dr. Murray was grateful to be honored.
“I feel like I'm able to make a greater impact in the classroom rather than in the lab,” Dr. Murray said. “That's not just from the subject I teach either, but also in the day-to-day moments I have with my students."
Finally, district leaders headed to Scarborough Elementary to be there as Dr. Watson surprised Jones with the announcement. She shared that this award goes to her students as much as it belongs to her.
“Anyone can teach a child numbers and letters; it takes a special person to teach a child how to love,” Jones said.