OIA instructor Stacy Stockdale was recently named one of the Kentucky Department of Education’s GoTeachKY Ambassadors for the 2023-24 school year.
Stockdale has been a special education teacher for 22 years. She lived and worked in a rural community in northern Kentucky before coming to Owensboro Public Schools in 2020.
“I am so excited and honored to be selected as an ambassador,” Stockdale said. “To me, it means being a role model and sharing my passion for teaching with others, highlighting the rewards and impact that come with being an educator.”
According to a release from KDE, the mission of GoTeachKY is “to ensure that all students across the Commonwealth have equitable access to effective educators. GoTeachKY seeks to recruit the next generation of teachers in Kentucky, helping remedy the critical teacher shortage that affects every state in the U.S.”
Stockdale said she wanted to do her part in helping address that teacher shortage.
“I wanted to be involved with this program to help guide high school and college students or those interested in a career change to look towards teaching as a profession,” she said. “I wasn’t certified to teach when I graduated from the University of Kentucky. I came into teaching through Option 6 Alternative Certification.”
Ambassadors were selected from a pool of applicants from across the state who were interested in supporting the initiative and helping promote the teaching profession. Each ambassador has a unique story that brought them into the teaching profession and their stories will be featured on social media as examples of the different pathways available to future educators. Stockdale hopes to gain new perspectives during her time working with other teachers across Kentucky.
“I enjoy collaborating with others, so joining the group sounded like an opportunity to meet with like-minded teachers,” she said. “I also love to hear about people’s backgrounds. Teachers bring their backgrounds into the classroom. I hope I can learn from them.”
Ambassadors must hold or have held a teaching position in a Kentucky public school and have at least 4 years of experience as a teacher, principal, or other certified school staff member. Ambassadors also will represent GoTeachKY at career fairs and other speaking engagements.
The 2024 GoTeachKY ambassadors are:
- Mackenzie Pettus Adams, Rockfield Elementary School (Warren County)
- Robyn Ballinger, Chenoweth Elementary School (Jefferson County)
- Steven Daniel Beams, Taylor County Middle School
- Janelle Brojakowski, Fallsburg Elementary School (Lawrence County)
- Heather Carden, Freedom Elementary School (Christian County)
- Dionna Collins, Johnson Central High School (Johnson County)
- Kimberly Cook, Spencer County High School
- Ronda Cox, Spencer County Middle School
- Latanza Garvin, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Fayette County)
- Erin Grace, Rockcastle County High School
- Katie Hale, Ponderosa Elementary School (Boyd County)
- Heather Hayen, Chenoweth Elementary School (Jefferson County)
- Melissa Anne Hopkins, Cedar Grove Elementary School (Bullitt County)
- Dylan Howard, Paducah Middle School (Paducah Independent)
- Caylen Knight, Randall K. Cooper High School (Boone County)
- Bree Massie, Frederick Douglass High School (Fayette County)
- Elizabeth Minix, Breathitt County (Districtwide)
- Laura Pratt, Paducah Head Start (Paducah Independent)
- Bridget Powell, Central Elementary School (Marshall County)
- Stacy R. Stockdale, Owensboro Innovation Academy (Owensboro Independent)
- Becky Wright, Henry County High School
