Dear Superintendents,
I had the honor of traveling with Governor Mark Gordon to Newcastle last week to celebrate Keeley Anderson, an intervention specialist at Newcastle Middle School, who was named as the national 2022 Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) awardee.
In planning this event, our amazing team here at the WDE was able to successfully keep this whole event tightly under wraps so it would be a complete surprise to Keeley, her family, the students and the teachers in Newcastle. What a thrill it was to see Keeley’s reaction (surprise, joy and tears!) and be able to give honor to whom honor is due. Keeley is a special person, truly one of our country’s unsung heroes, and we are grateful to her for the difference she is making in the lives of the students in Newcastle.
Learn more about the award here and watch U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona’s award video here.
Visiting Hulett School
Besides the Newcastle visit and the beautiful country we witnessed, we were able to interact with many hard-working leaders and classroom teachers at the nearby Hulett School.
One second grade teacher I met, Beth Marlatt, has been teaching 40 years, all in Hulett. She is, by all accounts, a local legend – and another one of those very special people working with our kids.
Hats off to the staff and student bodies of Weston County School District #1 and Crook County School District #1 Thank you for having us – it was a banner day up in the northeast part of the state!
Memos to be released today:
