It is not just the Whitley County School District that thinks Superintendent John Siler is super.
Siler recently received an Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) – Central Kentucky Educational Cooperative (CKEC) Superintendents of the Year “Experience Excellence” Award.
“This recognition reflects exceptional instructional leadership, strong communication, professionalism, and meaningful community involvement. We are proud to celebrate this well-deserved honor and grateful for the vision and leadership that continues to move Whitley County forward,” Whitley County Board of Education Chairperson Brenda Hill said during Thursday’s monthly meeting.
While the award was given to him, Siler said the credit belongs to the board of education, program directors, bus drivers and everyone else involved in the education process.
He noted the district has added a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) building plus career pathways in engineering welding, nurses’ assistant and phlebotomy in recent years. The high school now has 16 career pathways, which students can choose.
In addition, students can get dual credit while in high school with several institutions of higher learning, such as the University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, the University of the Cumberlands, Somerset Community College and Murry State University.
“They (students) have so many opportunities. It is way more than one person having a hand in that. It is definitely a team award but thank you. I appreciate it,” Siler said.
The awards recognize and honor superintendents of CKEC-member districts for their contributions to public education and investment in the Commonwealth’s children and future, according to EKU’s website.
The awards are presented annually through a competitive selection process based on a superintendent’s identified talent and vision in the areas of instructional leadership, communication, professionalism and community involvement.
“Superintendents of the Year ‘Experience Excellence’ award recipients demonstrate through their practices and leadership that knowledge advances student success; they incorporate innovative thinking and bold action into their vision; and their transformational leadership style embraces guiding values of inclusion and trust,” EKU wrote on its website.
