Lawrence second-year teachers receive Horizon Awards for outstanding work – The Lawrence Times
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The Lawrence School District has honored two new teachers for their exemplary work with students.
Makia Austin, a teacher at Cordley Elementary School, and Allison Gates, a special education teacher at West Middle School, received the district’s 2024 Horizon Award for elementary and secondary schools, respectively. The annual award is given to emerging teachers entering their second year in the district.
Cordley Principal Becky Reaver said in a post on the district’s Facebook page that Austin “feels a desire to teach.”
“She lives and thrives in this very special purpose of helping children succeed,” Reaver said in the post. “She has the ability to think like a teacher and a student, which allows her to see herself through the eyes of her students and offer a deeper level of empathy and understanding.”
Gates began championing inclusion in high school and then spent her college years working with adults with special needs, according to another post on the school district’s Facebook page. In a nomination letter for the award, her colleagues at West wrote, “Not a day goes by that Allison doesn’t think about how she can help students.”
“Our students just want someone to give them a chance – someone who believes in them, sets high expectations for them and supports them in meeting those expectations,” former Superintendent Anthony Lewis said in the post. “The teacher we are honoring here does all of that and more.”
In addition to the recognition, Austin and Gates each received $500. The district plans to nominate them both for the Kansas State Department of Education’s Kansas Horizon Award program.
For more information about the local Horizon Award and a list of past winners, visit the district website at this link.
Larry Englebrick, assistant superintendent, said during Monday’s school board meeting that presenting the two awards was Lewis’ “last official duty” as superintendent.
Lewis has accepted a position as superintendent of schools in Durham, North Carolina, and Jeanice Swift was named interim superintendent of Lawrence on Monday.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), stocks reporter, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about her work for the Times here. Check out her employee bio here.
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