For the last two years, Kentucky Education Technology Staff statewide were pushed to the brink — bearing nearly the full responsibility of creating a digital classroom during a pandemic.
And yet, the notion went from a science fiction concept to a full-blown reality during the COVID-19 pandemic, as families had to turn to “EdTech” for learning and growth.
During Thursday’s Trigg County Board of Education meeting, those who made it possible in Cadiz — Mike Snodgrass, Jonathan Pepper, Chuck Crabtree, Michelle Oakley, Rory Fundora, and others — were presented the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Stilwell Awards.
Considered the highest meritorious honor in state education, Region 1 KETS Staffer Jody Rose presented everyone with a commemorative coin and a pair of red suspenders, an homage to the award’s namesake in the late Dr. Bill Stilwell for the University of Kentucky.
While the award has been bequeathed to all such technology staffs across the Commonwealth following their crucial roles in the health crisis, Rose noted that Trigg County Schools has a particularly impressive load of technology in its hands.
And that technology needs in-house, uplifting support.
Superintendent Bill Thorpe, and the board, noted the honor was well-earned and deserved.
The coin is engraved with red suspenders and a silhouette of Dr. Stilwell.
Thursday’s award presentation came on the heels of a two-hour discussion between the district’s site-base decision makers, campus principals and the board — surrounding the mostly-positive news on the returns of the 2021-22 Kentucky Summative Assessment.