District Leadership was proud to surprise Delaney McWilliams, Kindergarten Teacher at Park Hill Elementary, and Olivia Bazanos, Derby Middle School Orchestra Teacher/Derby High School Band Assistant Director, with news they were selected as the district's 2025 representatives for the Horizon Award.

The Horizon Award program offers Kansas school districts an excellent opportunity to honor exemplary first-year teachers. The program, sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education, recognizes and rewards teachers who have served as outstanding representatives of excellent teaching in the elementary and secondary classrooms of the state during their first year of teaching.

Nominated teachers must have completed their first year of teaching and be starting their second year. They will complete an application due in October. Horizon Award winners receive special recognition during the KEEN State Education Conference, which takes place each February in Topeka.