Beechwood High School English teacher Molly Seifert was named the 2027 Kentucky Teacher of the Year at a ceremony in Frankfort on Sept. 9.

Seifert, who is in her 21st year at the Fort Mitchell school, was chosen from among 600 nominees statewide, the NKY Tribune reported. She also earned the 2027 Kentucky High School Teacher of the Year honor. Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher presented the awards.

"I'm shocked. I am so humbled," Seifert said at the ceremony. "I am so grateful that the folks chose me for this award." She pledged to represent the needs of Kentucky's students and teachers.

The honor comes with a $10,000 cash prize and a six-month sabbatical with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). During the sabbatical, Seifert will travel the state as an ambassador for the teaching profession.

She will also represent Kentucky in the National Teacher of the Year competition.

Seifert has 26 years of classroom experience overall, having taught high school English in Owen and Campbell counties before joining Beechwood Independent in 2006. Beyond her English classes, she coaches the school's speech and debate team and directs its theater program. Her speech and debate students have won dozens of regional, state and national titles, according to KDE's Kentucky Teacher publication.

That coaching record earned Seifert an induction into the Kentucky High School Speech League Hall of Fame in 2019.

In the classroom, Seifert described getting students on their feet to act out Shakespeare rather than reading silently. She tailors senior-level nonfiction units to students' post-graduation plans, having them write career-based research papers.

Seifert said she was inspired by her own drama teacher at Boone County High School, Ginny Kohl, telling Kentucky Teacher she is "quite literally living my high school dream."

A panel of veteran educators from across the state judged nominees on teaching philosophies, classroom experience and community involvement. Nine educators received Teacher Achievement Awards at the Sept. 9 ceremony. The other level-specific winners were Katherine Berner, a library media specialist at Baker Intermediate School in Clark County, and Kellie Moses, a general music and choir teacher at Garth Elementary School in Scott County.

Seifert will begin her ambassador sabbatical with KDE in the coming months. A timeline for the National Teacher of the Year announcement has not been released.