Eminence Independent Middle School teacher Jennifer Montgomery, an English teacher for 23 years, a National Board-Certified Teacher and an Asbury alumna, accepted the 2025 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Award at the Kentucky State Capitol on Sept. 10. Montgomery teaches seventh grade language arts along with several electives and was chosen as a representative of Kentucky’s best out of over 525 teacher nominees that were submitted to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).
As Montgomery stood before other Kentucky Teacher Achievement Award winners, the Commissioner of Education, the Kentucky Board of Education and her family, she reflected on the reasons why she became a teacher.
Montgomery grew up in a three-room cabin in Trimble County with no telephone service or running water. For Montgomery, the phenomenal teachers in public education were vital in her formation and path to becoming a teacher.
“I am a product of public education, and I had incredible educators all the way from kindergarten through twelfth grade as well as in college,” said Montgomery.
In her speech, Montgomery took the time to name each and every one of her teachers who had taught her, including a teacher from Asbury University, Dr. Daniel Strait. She shared the impact that teachers had on her by simply believing in her.
“They poured into me, they encouraged me and most importantly they believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” said Montgomery. “This is what I aspire to do in my own classroom, to help my students see their worth as individuals and to help them believe in themselves.”
Upon receiving her award of Teacher of the Year, Montgomery took the time to emphasize the importance of community.
“I think that our communities are one of our greatest assets,” said Montgomery. “I intentionally involve my students in our community because I think that when you come from a small community sometimes people view that as a limitation, and I know that coming from a small community is not actually a limitation, it’s one of the greatest assets that we could have because our communities are full of supportive people.”
When presenting Montgomery with the award, Dr. Sharon Porter Robinson, the chair of the Kentucky Board of Education, noted Montgomery’s intentional inclusion of her community through the classroom.
“Her classes have designed and painted flower gardens in the local library and painted over 120 fire hydrants based on the amount of water pressure each hydrant receives,” said Dr. Robinson. “Her class even created a website for a local cemetery so that anyone can search if loved ones are buried there.”
Montgomery told me that just as the experiences of her youth influenced her decision to become a teacher, they also influence the way that she frames her lessons.
Montgomery has students read “A Long Walk to Water,” a book about the Lost Boys of Sudan who have no opportunity to receive an education because they need to collect water to survive. Related to the reading, Montgomery has students walk a mile while carrying a gallon of water. The hands-on nature of the activity promotes empathy and strikes a chord in the students.
“Our building is a K-12 school, and when junior and seniors walk past my room and see my door decorated like an African hut, they say, ‘Are you reading about Salva?’ They not only remember what they learned years ago while reading this book, but they remember the character’s name, because he is real to them.”
This empathy that Montgomery generates in her students is part of the legacy that she wants to leave behind as a teacher.
“I want to leave a legacy of empowering students to make a difference. I want students to know that their stories matter. They matter. But I also want them to understand the world is a very big place. I want them to empathize with others and to be moved with compassion.”
While Montgomery is not able to share her faith openly in a public school, she is still able to demonstrate the light and love of Christ in her classroom.
“My faith has informed my view of teaching because I see my role as a teacher as a spiritual role,” said Montgomery. “That means everything I do, from dealing with discipline issues to planning a lesson to how I interact with my students should demonstrate Christ’s love.”
Montgomery credits the collection of experiences with colleagues, administrators, family members, community members, friends and students as part of her journey which have accumulated in her winning Kentucky Teacher of the Year.
“Teaching is an art. I like to think of it as a tapestry, filled with threads of thousands of experiences I have had over the last two decades, both good and bad, which the Lord has woven together to create something that only He could,” said Montgomery. “I want to represent my community well as Teacher of the Year, but I also want to represent Christ to all of those I will come into contact with over the course of the next year.”
As part of the award, KDE offers the Teacher of the Year winner a six-month professional sabbatical opportunity, which begins in January, to serve as an ambassador to assist KDE’s efforts to “grow, strengthen and diversify KY’s educator workforce.”
Montgomery looks forward to having the opportunity to build relationships with students and with the community in this role. While Montgomery is praised and honored for her unique and empathetic approach to teaching, she wants to remind students that acts of love and compassion, even those that go unnoticed matter.
“I want each of them to understand that small acts of love and compassion matter. They may never get recognized or honored for them, but it is a powerful thing to say to another human being, whether through words or through action, I see you.”
*The contents, opinions, and viewpoints contained herein are those of the 2025 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, Jennifer Montgomery, and do not necessarily represent the official views and opinions of the Kentucky Department of Education.
