Chandra Holloway Emerson, a 7th grade language arts teacher at Oldham County Middle School, who was recently named the 2008 Kentucky Teacher of the Year by the Kentucky Department of Education and Ashland Inc. Emerson holds a master’s degree from Georgetown College and is National Board certified.

Ashland Inc. began a partnership in 2001 with the Kentucky Department of Education to “honor exemplary teachers throughout the Commonwealth” each year. Emerson and 19 other outstanding Kentucky teachers were honored last week during a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda.

Emerson received $10,000 and a commemorative crystal glass bowl for being selected Teacher of the Year. The Department of Education will also provide her with a sabbatical or a suitable alternative, and she will represent Kentucky in the 2008 National Teacher of the Year competition.

Kentucky’s independent colleges and universities play a crucial role in preparing educators for service in Kentucky classrooms. Collectively, AIKCU members produce one-fourth of Kentucky’s new teachers annually. And one-third of all Kentucky teachers have at least one credential from an AIKCU member institution.

These contributions of AIKCU alumni to the teaching profession in Kentucky are reflected in the slate of honorees for this year’s Ashland Inc. Teacher Achievement Awards. In addition to Emerson, six other recipients are AIKCU alumni, with a bachelor’s, master’s, or Rank 1 from an AIKCU institution. These include:

• Karen V. Gill - science teacher at Henry Clay High School in Lexington; bachelor’s from Transylvania University
• Peggy A. Helm - language arts teacher at Crosby Middle School in Louisville; bachelor’s from Spalding University
• Solomon Kilburn - science teacher at Prestonsburg HS in Prestonsburg, bachelor’s from Alice Lloyd College
• Barbara T. Ledford - fourth grade teacher at Harlan Elementary in Harlan; Rank 1 from Union College
• Deidra H. Patton - gifted education teacher at Cannonsburg Elementary in Ashland; bachelor’s from Alice Lloyd College
• Debra Meade Slone - math, visual and language arts instructor for fifth- and sixth-grade at Clear Creek Elementary in LittCarr; bachelor’s from Alice Lloyd College

For bios of all 20 Ashland Inc. 2008 Teacher Achievement Award honorees, visit: http://www.ashland.com/commitments/toy_bios.asp.

For more information about AIKCU’s role in preparing Kentucky teachers, check out the special report Kentucky’s Independent Colleges and Universities: Preparing Teachers…Building the Future (2006).