Gehrer wins Horizon Award
January 18, 2010
Meadowlark Elementary School teacher Joe Gehrer has been named as one of the Kansas Horizon Award winners. The Horizon Awards, sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education, identify and recognize representatives of excellent teaching in the elementary and secondary classrooms of the state.
According to the www.ksde.org web site, the mission of the Kansas Horizon Award program is “to recognize exemplary first-year teachers who perform in a way that distinguishes them as outstanding.”
The Kansas Horizon Award program is a regional competition. The regions correspond to the state’s four U.S. congressional districts. The Kansas State Department of Education appoints regional selection committees responsible for reviewing the nomination forms and selecting four elementary classroom teachers and four secondary classroom teachers per region for a total of 32 teachers across the state.
Gehrer’s wife and parents were on hand Friday (January 15) for the surprise phone call from Interim Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Diane M. DeBacker. Superintendent of Schools Mark A. Evans, Board of Education Member Nancy Kirkendoll, Meadowlark Principal Jody Baker, Associate Superintendent Dr. Andy Koenigs and Assistant Superintendent Tom Ostrander were also in attendance.
Congratulations, Joe!
