NKY teacher earns $25,000 prize, national recognition

UNION, Ky. (WXIX) - An 8th-grade teacher at Ballyshannon Middle School earned a $25,000 prize for being named one of the top teachers in the nation.

Social studies teacher Kevin Dailey was completely caught off guard to find out he won the Milken Award, which honors the best teachers in the country.

He earned a huge round of applause from his students and peers during a special assembly at the school.

“I really don’t have words,” Dailey said. “I do want to thank the team that I work with at Ballyshannon; We have great educators. Despite all the challenges the world puts in front of us, we overcome them.”

The Milken Family Foundation has been putting the spotlight on teachers who go above and beyond for their students for the past 35 years.

Those behind the award say Dailey stood out because of how engaged his students are inside the classroom and for his after-hours volunteer work.

Dailey says his inspiration to be the best teacher he can, comes from the support he received from his favorite teacher.

“A really big shout out I want to give to Linda Fox,” Dailey said. “She’s the reason I’m a teacher. In the 10th grade, I was ready to give up on a lot of things, and she taught me not to, so thank you.”

Dailey also won a trip to Los Angeles, where he will meet the other teachers awarded this year.

As for how the $25,000 will be spent, Daily said he has to ask his wife. He hopes to pay off some debts with it, Dailey added.

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