Red Cross Elementary School teacher Scott Johnson was a finalist for the elementary division of the 2025 Kentucky Teacher Achievement Award. Photo courtesy of Kentucky Teacher
By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Red Cross Elementary School teacher Scott Johnson is one of the new ambassadors for the GoTeachKY initiative.
Johnson was also recently named the 2025 Elementary Teacher of the Year.
The initiative’s mission is to “to ensure that all students across the Commonwealth have equitable access to effective educators” and seek to recruit “the next generation” of Kentucky educators in an effort to alleviate the teacher shortage.
Ambassadors have three main goals, which are to communicate with students and encourage them to entertain teaching as a career, communicate with potential and current teachers to promote the rewards and opportunities of a teaching career, and support the initiative’s “central focus areas.”
He will also represent GoTeachKY at career fairs and various other speaking engagements.
To be selected, ambassadors had to have a teaching position in a Kentucky public school and have at least four years of experience as a teacher, principal or other certified school staff member.
Johnson is one of 21 people who is an ambassador. The others are:
- Jennifer Brown, Menifee County
- Natalie Canizal, Fayette County
- Brooke Coffman, Shelby County
- Hayley Dant, Boone County
- Jessica Dawn Thrasher, Wayne County
- Zach Fisher, Jefferson County
- Preston Graves, Simpson County
- Michelle Gross, Spencer County
- Melissa Hall, Breathitt County
- Amber Hinkle, Bell County
- Madeline Janel Morgan, Williamstown Independent
- Allison King, Paintsville Independent
- Rachel Maxwell, Scott County
- Sadie Rice, Fayette County
- Ashley K. Smith, Jefferson County
- Alicia C. Thomas, Fayette County
- Pennie Thomas, Boyd County
- Sarah Wallace, Anderson County
- Sarah Webster, Boone County
- Crista Williams, Warren County