Celebrating Educators in a COVID-era Through the Excellence in Education Awards

The Excellence in Education Awards are a high point on our annual calendar. Founded in 2018, these awards have typically taken place during Teacher Appreciation Week in May, and give cash awards to educators that demonstrate excellence in both the Kansas City Public School District and local charter school LEAs. However, the disruption of the COVID-19 crisis forced the awards ceremonies to be cancelled, as schools turned their focus to shifting to remote learning and ensuring no drop in service to Kansas City’s most vulnerable students.

Immediately, conversations started on how we could still recognize the work done by these exceptional educators. For our local charter schools, it was decided that the traditionally in-person ceremony would be moved to an online celebration, hosted by the Missouri Charter Public School Association (MCPSA). On August 6th, hundreds of people gathered to watch online as teachers and staff were recognized and given awards for their excellent work. View the Excellence in Education Awards ceremony here:

SchoolSmartKC would like to congratulate all of our educators for their exceptional work in the last few months, and especially thank our 2020 Excellence in Education charter school finalists and winners.

Elementary Teacher of the Year

WINNER: Vonnchet Clark – Academy of Integrated Arts

Haley Hurst – Academy for Integrated Arts

Ciera Kelley – University Academy

Middle/High Teacher of the Year

WINNER: Angela Rosheim – Kansas City International Academy

Spencer Burke – Frontier Schools

Stacey Hinkle – Crossroads Charter Schools

Staff Member of the Year

WINNER: Bethany Brown – University Academy

John Gresham – University Academy

Michelle Marble – Frontier Schools

Arica Miller – Academy for Integrated Arts

School Leader of the Year

WINNER: Tony Kline – University Academy

Nicole Goodman – Scuola Vita Nuova

Tysie McDowell – Crossroads Charter Schools

Innovative Teams of the Year

Teams who have tackled challenges and developed solutions to ensure that children are learning.

WINNER: Behavioral Health Partnership – Academy for Integrated Arts

WINNER: Conflict Resolution Team – Genesis School

CARE Room Team – Kansas City International Academy

PreK Coop. Team – University Academy