Jonas Pippitt, a Gardner Edgerton High School mathematics teacher, has been recognized by the Kansas State Department of Education as an outstanding first-year teacher. Dr. Randy Watson, Commissioner of Education, called to congratulate Jonas on January 11, 2024. The Horizon Award is reserved for those teachers who have successfully completed their first year of teaching and have performed in such a way as to distinguish themselves as outstanding.
This marks the sixth time in six years that Gardner Edgerton teachers have won this prestigious award. Jennifer Miller, a first-grade teacher at Nike Elementary, and Stephanie Matz, an English teacher at Gardner Edgerton High School, both won in 2023; Sydney Clarke, a fifth-grade teacher at Wheatridge Middle School, won in 2021; Emily Hinrichs, a third-grade teacher at Nike Elementary won in 2020; and Katey Foley, a French teacher at Gardner Edgerton High School won in 2019.
To view the phone call with Commissioner Watson, click HERE. To learn more about the Kansas Horizon Award program, click HERE.
Jonas will be recognized during the Board of Education meeting on February 10, 2024.