In her fifth grade math classroom at Carroll County Middle School, Kelly Simmons focuses on something simple but important. She wants students to understand math and believe they can do it.
That steady approach recently earned Simmons a Golden Apple Award from the Northern Kentucky Education Council at its annual Excellence in Education celebration.
“I think any kind of recognition like that is flattering,” Simmons said. “You don’t always know how you compare with what’s going on in the rest of the building because you’re focused on what you’re doing. It means a lot that someone would take the time to write something positive about you.”
Carroll County Schools Superintendent Casey Jaynes offered his congratulations. “To be recognized as one of the top teachers in the Northern Kentucky area by the Northern Kentucky Education Council is a tribute to your passion and dedication to the students and parents of CCMS,” he said. “It is certainly an example of what it means to Empower Integrity and Engage Community and being #cctop10.”
Simmons is in her ninth year of teaching, but education was not her first career. Before stepping into the classroom, she worked in management with Cracker Barrel. That experience still shapes how she approaches her work today.
“It’s really listening to feedback you get and not taking it as criticism, but doing it,” Simmons noted. “When you get the feedback then put it into play.”
That mindset carries over into her role as a team lead. Simmons describes her team as supportive and open, with a strong focus on learning from one another. Her classroom reflects that same openness.
“Students in Kelly’s classroom feel seen, valued, and capable,” said CCMS Principal Dr. Robin Stephenson. “It’s a classroom where genuine care and expectations live side by side. Kelly consistently shows up every single day with consistency and hard work for our students.”
Simmons said her classroom door is always open. “Other teachers, college students, even high school students will come in to observe. We learn a lot just by sharing ideas.”
While she values collaboration with colleagues, Simmons says the most rewarding part of her job is working with students and watching their progress over time.
“I love seeing the growth in children from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, not just with academics but with personal relationships that grow,” Simmons said.
She is especially intentional about helping students feel supported. “I like for kids to know I believe in them when they may not have anybody else who believes in them,” she said.
Teaching fifth grade math gives her the chance to connect lessons to everyday life, which she says helps students see the value in what they are learning.
“Fifth grade math is math that is literally every day math you need for life,” she added. “I’ve had kids come back and say you weren’t joking, we really do need that math.”
Simmons said she chose to leave corporate America and become a teacher because she “wanted to do something with a little more meaning in life and something that could balance my family life as well.” She and her husband have two daughters who are students in Carroll County Schools.
A Carroll County native, she returned to the area after living away for several years. Being back in her home community adds another layer of purpose to her work.
“I grew up in Carroll County and I will always have my heart in CC and I know the potential this community has,” she said.