Long-time Owensboro Public Schools educator Linda Kingsley was officially inducted into the Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame during the organization’s ceremony Friday at Western Kentucky University. Kingsley has been a fixture in OPS since the early 1960s, teaching English and debate in addition to serving in other roles.
There were only two inductees this year: Kingsley and Arthur C. Hale, who taught science and math at Ohio County High School for 54 years. The KY Teacher Hall of Fame, housed at WKU’s College of Education and Behavioral Sciences in Gary Ransdell Hall, has inducted 47 educators since its first class was announced in 2008.
Kingsley offered advice for students considering a teaching career.
“Pursue that goal for teaching,” she said. “I didn’t think when I started college that would be my goal, but once I was introduced to the classroom it was where I was meant to be.”
WKU President Timothy C. Caboni congratulated Hale and Kingsley and thanked them for their combined total of 83 years in the classroom.
“Thank you for answering your own call to teaching decades ago, for inspiring your students and all those who worked alongside you during your career, and for demonstrating to us all how a single teacher can change many lives, how one teacher can truly make a difference,” he said.
Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, a former teacher, thanked the inductees for their dedication and service to their students, saying: “May we have more future generations of Kentucky teachers walk in your shoes and live by your example.”
Kingsley, who began at Owensboro High School in 1962, was nominated by five of her former students and former interim superintendent Anita Burnette. She joins the ranks of Kentucky educators who have left a lasting impact on the field, having taught multiple generations in her more than five decades in education.
“I feel very undeserving of this honor,” Kingsley said last month upon finding out she was an inductee. “It’s overwhelming, but I’ve had so much support along the way — from administrators, colleagues, and friends in the school system.”
Kingsley’s teaching journey began when she was a student at Kentucky Wesleyan College, where she completed her student teaching at Owensboro Senior High. After graduation, she started her full-time teaching career there and never looked back.
Kingsley, who earned her bachelor’s degree from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1962 and a master’s degree from WKU in 1988, described her path to teaching as a natural fit for her love of learning. Over the years, her students flourished under her guidance, becoming thoughtful leaders in their respective fields.
“I’ve seen multiple generations come through,” Kingsley said previously. “I taught children of former students, and now I’m even teaching their grandchildren. It’s been fascinating.”
Her dedication to education extends far beyond the classroom. Kingsley served as a mentor and role model, not only for her students but for her colleagues. She continues to support the district by working as a substitute teacher, even after her official retirement.
As she reflected on her career last month, Kingsley remained modest about her accomplishments, attributing her success to the support she received from mentors like Louise Brody, who helped guide her early in her career.
“I had wonderful mentors who got me off on the right track,” Kingsley said previously. “This honor isn’t just mine — it belongs to everyone who helped me along the way.”
