Excellence in Education 2024 winners honored at Kauffman Stadium

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The 2024 Excellence in Education Awards were held last night at Kauffman Stadium in honor of public school educators in the Kansas City Public School District. 2024 marks the sixth year for this event.

21 educators and four teams were selected from both public charter schools and Kansas City Public Schools to receive a total of $230,000 in awards. The 21 individual award winners won $10,000 each, and the team winners won $5,000 to invest in their school’s programming.

Winners will also be honored on the field at Kauffman during the Royals’ game vs. the Philadelphia Phillies on August 24.

The winners are as follows:

Star Leader:

• Jessie Kirksey, Principal, John T Hartman Elementary
• Tricia DeGraff, School Leader, Academy for Integrated Arts

Star Administrator

• Chelsea Millar, Vice Principal, Garfield Elementary School
• Erin Opara, 6-8 ELA/Reading Instructional Coach, Kansas City International Academy

Star Support

• Amy Carlson, Dean of Culture and Climate, Northeast Middle School
• Christine Allenbrand, School Nurse, JA Rogers Elementary School
• Danita Saffold, Paraprofessional, Wendell Phillips Elementary School
• Lorena Patino, Family and Community Engagement, Guadalupe Centers Charter Schools
• Victoria Jenkins, Special Education Para, Frontier Schools
• Yolanda Irvin, Front Office Secretary/Receptionist, Brookside Charter Schools

Star Teacher

• Belinda Blake, Teacher, Garfield Elementary School
• Jessica Williams, Teacher, Benjamin Banneker Elementary School
• Katelynn Aulgur, Teacher, Trailwoods Elementary School
• Kim Ramsey, Teacher, Phyllis Wheatley Elementary School
• Mary Jo Fender, Teacher, Paseo Academy for Fine and Performing Arts
• Ellen Jorgenson, ELA Teacher, Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy
• Hannah Ickes, 3-5 Reading Intervention Teacher, Guadalupe Centers Charter Schools
• Hilary Kosnac, Literacy Specialist, Guadalupe Centers Charter Schools
• Marie Catherine Marchand, 2nd Grade Teacher, Académie Lafayette
• Megan Henderson, 2nd Grade Teacher, Guadalupe Centers Charter Schools

Star Team

• Carver PLC Team, Carver Dual Language
• Garfield PLC Team, Garfield Elementary
• Guadalupe Centers High School – Academies Team, Guadalupe Centers Charter School
• 3rd Grade Team, Frontier Schools

Star Pre-K Teacher

• Danielle Britt, Teacher, Frontier Schools

SchoolSmartKC and the Kansas City Royals Foundation hosted the special event. The evening saw special remarks from the Royals CEO John Sherman, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and State Commissioner for Education Karla Eslinger.

The 2024 event was also the first year the Pre-K category was included in the awards.

The Missouri Charter Public Schools Association and the Kansas City Public Schools Education Foundation led the nomination and selection of the winners. Both organizations are partners of the event.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.