Kern Superintendent of Schools honors Teachers of the Year
The Kern County Superintendent of Schools honored three local teachers with its top prize Tuesday in its annual celebration for educators, which took place at Cal State Bakersfield.
“The Kern County Teacher of the Year program is a highlight of the year for our office,” said KCSOS spokesman Rob Meszaros, who said the opportunity to have everyone back for an in-person ceremony this year was welcomed after a two-year hiatus. “Teaching is a truly special profession, one that can be extremely challenging, but one that is also rich with rewards. The pandemic has of course exacerbated challenges for teachers everywhere, so their hard work and dedication should be recognized and commended more than ever.”
While there are 46 school districts in Kern County, a district is allowed to nominate one candidate per 5,000 students, for a total of 57 nominees.
The top three earn a $500 award and those chosen will also be considered for the state Teacher of the Year award, which is usually given in the fall.
For Kern County in 2022, the three selected Tuesday were: Frontier High special education teacher Kurt Keckley; literacy intervention teacher Kelsea Linnell from Elk Hills School; and eighthgrade history teacher Hanna Rahberger from Cato Middle School.
Each had unique reasons for being on the list, but all of them had one thing in common: They made a difference in the lives of a number of students.
Keckley, who’s been a teacher for 22 years, established and continues to run clubs that reach underserved youth through the TITAN gaming club and Frontier’s Esports team, according to information from the KCSOS.
He also created a video game
about World War I to teach his students about the conflict, called “Fields of Despair,” which was ultimately adopted into a lesson plan by West Point Military Academy. A lieutenant colonel saw the value in the game and recognized Keckley for “his extraordinary contribution to the teaching profession and to his country.”
Linnell, another longtime teacher with nearly 20 years of experience, was recognized because she coordinated, designed and implemented a new literacy intervention program from the ground up and took the lead role in the effort to shift the climate and culture around reading, according to a statement from the KCSOS.
Rahberger, a history department chair and professional learning community leader, has had the opportunity to build professional development tailored to the needs of the team, according to the KCSOS. Her belief in collaboration extends beyond the bounds of her own school and district and includes teachers in other districts who she has mentored as student teachers.