KY superintendent told teacher she had ‘poor work ethic.’ Now she’s on the school board

New documents show the Covington Independent Public Schools superintendent criticized a teacher, who was named Miss Kentucky 2022 and elected to the local school board, as he notified her her teaching contract would not be renewed.

Miss Kentucky 2022 Hannah Edelen was elected to the Covington Independent Public Schools board in November after Superintendent Alvin Garrison would not renew her teaching contract.

But both Edelen and Garrison told the Herald-Leader that they are now ready to work as a team.

In a May 18, 2022 letter notifying Edelen her contract would not be renewed, Garrison wrote that she “demonstrated a lack of professionalism; poor work ethic and work attitude; lack of respect for co-workers; as well as failure or inability to follow established policies and procedures” as a teacher at Holmes Middle School during the 2021-22 school year, WCPO reported Tuesday. WCPO also published Edelen’s personnel records in its report.

Edelen’s personnel file contained positive reviews of her job performance from other staff, including one from the end of the 2021-22 school year before her contract wasn’t renewed, according to the documents.

“Ms. Edelen is a very outgoing teacher with a vibrant personality. She is infectious with her positivity toward our students at HMS. Her classroom is highly structured, challenging and she has high expectations for all students. Ms. Edelen is an asset to the HMS staff,” her summative evaluation said.

The evaluator’s name was blacked out in documents received by WCPO.

Edelen is one of five elected Covington school board members that now have supervisory responsibility for the superintendent.

Garrison told the Herald-Leader that it is the policy of the Covington Independent Schools not to publicly comment on matters of personnel.

“We value the unique talents and perspectives that each elected board official brings to the table, and as District employees we are excited to work with the Board as a team in furtherance of the educational mission of the School District,” Garrison said.

Edelen told the Herald-Leader that “I am proud of my work at Holmes Middle School, and am confident that my very positive performance reviews provide the more accurate picture of my time with the school district. I love teaching, I love children, and I remain grateful for the opportunity I had to teach in Covington.

“As I step into my new role, I bring valuable experience as an educator and doctoral student and will use these experiences to work towards creating bold and bright futures for the incredible kids of Covington. I’m enthusiastic about this work and look forward to collaborating as a team,” Edelen said.

Edelen said she ended her time at Holmes Middle School at May 2022.

She filed for election to the school board June 7. She was crowned Miss Kentucky June 18, 2022.

Contract non-renewal

In one case, Garrison said in a letter that Edelen used sick days for a trip to Washington D.C. that were unrelated to her duties. Edelen responded in a letter — posted on the WCPO website — that she had permission from her principal to attend the Cherry Blossom Festival representing Kentucky.

“It appears that you have been provided with a significant amount of false information,” Edelen said in her response to Garrison.

She said that Garrison’s letter was “at best, an inaccurate representation of my work ethic, attitude, respect with others, and my following of procedures, and, at worst, an attempt to slanderously discredit an educator with whom you disagree, with manipulated and false information to substantiate a non-renewal.”

This story was originally published January 12, 2023 at 6:08 PM.