The Unified School District #456 Board of Education is proud to recognize Danny Rice, Vocational/Agriculture Teacher at Marais des Cygnes Valley High School, as the USD 456 Teacher of the Year for the 2019-2020 school year. With this selection, Mr. Rice becomes the school district nominee for the Kansas State Department of Education's Teacher of the Year program.
The USD 456 Teacher of the Year award is in its second year, created in response to the call from KSDE to select nominees for its' statewide Teacher of the Year program. For this year's award, Mr. Rice was selected amongst district certified staff through a nomination process that included students, staff, and community members and then chosen by the board of education.
In being the district's nominee for the annual KSDE Teacher of the Year program, it should be noted that the program is a highly prestigious honor with only 8 state-level finalists selected from over 100 nominees, of which will include Mr. Rice. To be considered for KSDE's Teacher of the Year, district nominees complete a professional application packet including a professional biography, response questions, recommendation letters, and a number of other information items.
For this year's Teacher of the Year award, Mr. Rice was selected due to his extensive commitment to the success of the FFA program at MDCV, along with the valuable knowledge he provides in educating students through his vocational and agriculture programs. Additionally, Mr. Rice is widely respected for being a teacher that not only cares about his students in the classroom, but long after they have left the classroom, continuing a lasting guidance that is undeniably beneficial. Congratulations are extended from the USD 456 Board of Education to Danny Rice upon his selection.