Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, May 5, 2011

Each spring, Fayette County Public Schools salutes freshmen who have righted their ship after initially struggling in high school. The Ninth-Grade Improvement Awards encourage these students as they seek to follow their newfound paths to success.

This year’s awards dinner and program, sponsored by Fifth Third Bank, were May 5 at Immanuel Baptist Church. Kelsee Jackson, a senior at Henry Clay High School and a 2008 award recipient, shared what this honor meant to her and how it helped shape the rest of her FCPS career.

The five high schools were each invited to select about 20 ninth-graders for recognition, and The Learning Center at Linlee and Martin Luther King Jr. Academy nominated two students apiece. Each school also tapped its one student deemed to be the most improved freshman in 2010-2011. These grand-prize winners received MP3 players, courtesy of Dell Inc.:

• Bryan Station – Jordan Skidmore
• Henry Clay – Heather Durham
• Lafayette – Brandon Kanatzer
• Martin Luther King Jr. Academy – Robert Hissong
• Paul Laurence Dunbar – Hailey Hernandez
• Tates Creek – Ahbree Woodley
• The Learning Center at Linlee – Andrew Clark

Full list of award winners 

Slide show (PDF)

The Ninth-Grade Improvement Awards, which the 16^th District PTA launched several years ago, cite effort, determination and resiliency. The recipients don’t let obstacles keep them from completing their freshman year, and they are expected to display that same courage throughout high school.

For more information, please contact Heidi Reihing.