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Kate Underwood, Register Correspondent says, "Shannon Abney always knew she wanted to be a music teacher. Music was a natural love of her life, and sharing that love with the next generation seemed perfect."
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| Mrs. Shannon Abney with third-grade music
student Hayley Higdon. Abney was recently honored as the Kentucky Music
Education Association Teacher of the Year. Photo: Kate Underwood/ The Register. |
“It’s always what I was going to do,” she said, reflecting on her career decision.
Public school teachers may not often get the respect or recognition they deserve, but Mrs. Shannon Abney, the general music teacher at Silver Creek Elementary in Berea, has attracted attention recently. She was honored by her peers in music education at the Kentucky Music Education Association’s conference as the KMEA Teacher of the Year. At February’s conference in Louisville, she was awarded a plaque and recognized for her contributions in music education.
“The awards ceremony was so exciting! I was still in a state of shock that I had been chosen,” she said.
Because of “her dedication and love for teaching,” fellow district music teacher Kimberly Evans chose to nominate Abney for the Teacher of the Year award at the district level.
Evans, who teaches music at Waco Elementary School in Richmond, said, “(Abney) goes above and beyond to provide her students with a well-rounded music education while also instilling in them a passion for music.”
After that initial nomination and winning the District 11 award, Abney completed an additional application process to be considered for the state-level award. Besides submitting her CV and additional references, she described her educational philosophy and teaching techniques in her application.
“It meant so much to be recognized by my peers,” Abney said.
KMEA Conference
Abney said, “The KMEA Conference is nice because sessions are often led by colleagues in music education.”
It was a gathering of like-minded teachers with similar goals of advancing music education departments around Kentucky.
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Source: Richmond Register
