Ky. Teacher of the Year champions
project-based learning in math
KENTUCKY TEACHER, KDE
Michelle Gross, center, a mathematics teacher
at Spencer County Middle School, was named
the 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the Year. Kara
Byrn Dowdy, right, an English teacher at
Mayfield High School (Mayfield Independent)
and Melanie Howard, left, a special ed teacher
at Corbin Primary School (Corbin Independent),
were also named finalists. Provided by KDE
2026 Kentucky Teacher
Achievement Award
winners
Gross was among nine educators
who were honored as 2026 Kentucky
Teacher Achievement Award Winners
at the Oct. 7 ceremony. Kara Byrn
Dowdy, an English teacher at Mayfield
High School (Mayfield Independent)
was named High School Teacher of the
Year finalist and Melanie Howard, a
special education moderate and severe
disabilities teacher at Corbin Primary
School (Corbin Independent) was named
Elementary School Teacher of the Year
finalist.
“This is a day of celebration
to recognize the work and
accomplishments of nine exemplary
educators,” Commissioner of Education
Robbie Fletcher said. “They represent
more than 40,000 fellow teachers who
give of themselves every day to help our
students achieve success.
Also in attendance were Lt. Gov.
Jacqueline Coleman, Kentucky Board
of Education members and 2025
Kentucky Teacher of the Year Jennifer
Montgomery.
November 2025 | Kentucky School Advocate 11
Spencer County Middle School
teacher Michelle Gross designs vibrant
learning experiences to help her
students understand how math applies
to their lives.
Gross, a 22-year teaching veteran,
was named the 2026 Kentucky Teacher
of the Year during an Oct. 7 ceremony
in Frankfort.
“I want to build a culture of learning
throughout the state of Kentucky that’s
rooted in community,” Gross said. “I
want to see every voice uplifted. I want
it expanded beyond a single classroom
or a single year.”
Gross teaches four 7th-grade math
classes and a gifted and talented class
called The Academy, where students
pick a subject area to dig into deeper.
Gross said she loves teaching math
not only because she is good at math,
but also because she loves helping
students see how the subject connects
to the real world.
For example, Gross has students pick
a recipe and use math to scale it up for
a crowd or scale it down for just a few
people. Then students cook the food,
either for their family or their class.
Gross also started the Dream
Homerama project where students
design and build a model of
their dream house. They start by
researching architecture and design
concepts, then useing the math they
learn in class to design it digitally and
build 3D models.
Students then present their houses
in front of architects, contractors,
interior designers, real estate agents
and community members.
“When I originally started doing
this, I thought this is going to benefit
my kids. It did benefit my kids, but it
also benefited the community,” Gross
said. “The community was like, ‘Oh
my goodness, look what these kids are
capable of doing.’”
As a student herself, Gross always
loved to help other people but didn’t
know she wanted to be a teacher until
she was a senior in high school when
her teacher saw she excelled at math
and helping others and asked her to
start tutoring other students.
One of those students was at risk of
not graduating.
“At this point, I thought maybe I
might want to be a teacher, but I still
wasn’t 100% sure,” Gross said. “On
graduation day when he crossed the
stage, it was one of those moments for
me. … I was like, ‘This is where I can
make a difference.’”
She was thankful for the teachers
who saw her gift and encouraged her
to help other students. Now, Gross does
the same thing for her students.
She recently noticed some
students were having trouble with
a proportionality concept. But one
student understood it, so Gross asked
her to make a video explaining the
math problem.
“She was so excited to do that
and she emailed me back and she’s
like, ‘I’d love to do some more of
these,’” Gross said. “Giving her that
opportunity, it helped the other kids
as well because (they) were able to
watch the video and said, ‘That makes
more sense now.’ So seeing that my
teachers in the past did that for me
and now I have the opportunity to
do that for my students, I feel like it’s
kind of come full circle.”
Spencer County Middle School teacher
Michelle Gross, helps students understand how
they will use math in their lives. Provided