photo by: Courtesy of Lawrence school district

Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis presents the Lawrence Horizon Award to Julia Ferguson in her classroom at Quail Run Elementary School in September. Audra Fussell of Truity Credit Union presented Ferguson with $500. The district then nominated Ferguson for state recognition, which she won.

On her first day back at Quail Run Elementary after winter break, Julia Ferguson received a call from Kansas Commissioner of Education Randy Watson informing her that she had been selected as a Kansas Horizon Award winner.

The Horizon Award recognizes exemplary educators in their second year of teaching. The district honored Ferguson, who teaches fourth and fifth grades, with its Lawrence Horizon Award in September and nominated her to the state recognition program.

Ferguson now joins the Kansas Exemplary Educator Network of statewide educational leaders in school improvement, student performance and the teaching profession, the Lawrence school district said in a news release Wednesday. KEEN educators meet annually for professional development opportunities and serve on Kansas State Department of Education advisory committees.

The Kansas Horizon Award Program is a regional competition. The regions correspond to the state’s four U.S. congressional districts. KSDE’s regional selection committees reviewed nominations and selected up to four elementary classroom teachers and four secondary classroom teachers per region for a maximum of 32 Kansas Horizon Award winners. They will be individually recognized by KSDE during a luncheon at a two-day KEEN conference in February.