KY educator who connects math to the real world named Teacher of the Year
.jpg "Michelle Gross, a math teacher at Spencer County Middle School, is the 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the Year.")
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- Michelle Gross, Spencer County math teacher, named 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the Year.
- Winner receives $10,000 and a six-month Department of Education sabbatical role.
- Panel chose winners from 753 nominations; nine teachers represent all school levels.
A middle school teacher who wants students to see how math connects to the real world is the 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the Year.
Michelle Gross, a mathematics teacher at Spencer County Middle School, was honored Tuesday night in Frankfort. Spencer County is about an hour west of Lexington.
The Teacher of the Year receives a $10,000 cash prize and the opportunity to spend a six-month sabbatical with the Kentucky Department of Education “as an ambassador of the teaching profession.”
“I want to build a culture of learning throughout state of Kentucky that’s rooted in community,” Gross said in a news release announcing her win. “I want to see every voice uplifted. I want it expand beyond a single classroom or a single year.”
Gross, who has been a math teacher for 22 years, engages her students with an annual project called Dream Homerama in which they design their dream homes, build a 3D model of it and present their plans to professionals such as “architects, contractors, interior designers, real estate agents and community members,” according to the news release.
Melanie Howard, a special education moderate and severe disabilities teacher at Corbin Primary School, in the Corbin Independent School District, was the elementary school finalist, and Kara Byrn Dowdy, an English teacher at Mayfield High School in the Mayfield Independent School District, was the finalist at the high school level.
Both Howard and Dowdy have 21 years of teaching experience.
Three teachers each from Kentucky elementary, middle and high schools were honored Tuesday night as 2026 Kentucky Teacher Achievement Award Winners and competed for the honor of Teacher of the Year.
Among the nine was one Fayette County Public Schools teacher, Whitney M. Walker, who teaches at Lafayette High School.
Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher said the nine 2026 Kentucky Teacher Achievement Award Winners, all of whom receive cash awards, “represent more than 40,000 fellow teachers who give of themselves every day to help our students achieve success.”
“I want to be the first person today to say thank you to these nine exceptional teachers for all you do, not just on behalf of the Kentucky Department of Education, but on behalf of your students, your schools, your communities and the education profession,” Fletcher said in a news release. “We appreciate you and your dedication to each and every student!”
The Education Department said a panel of veteran educators from across the state selected the winners from among 753 nominations, a 42% increase over last year.
