Karen Putlak - 2023 WHAS/LG&E KU ExCEL Award Winner

The purpose of the WHAS/LG&E KU Excellence in Classroom and Educational Leadership (ExCEL) Award is to recognize and reward the contributions of the public schools and the teaching profession to the development and well-being of young people. The ExCEL award is given to teachers in our community who go above and beyond to educate their students.

This year's winner is Karen Putlak from Oldham County Preschool. Her students say she likes gardens, flowers, sausage biscuits for breakfast, and that she's the best teacher in the world. Her principal and colleagues will tell you that she is top-notch in everything she does at the school.

There are always new and exciting learning events happening in her class. When students are engaged in play, which is an integral part of their day, they may be working independently to increase fine motor skills by using a stencil, or journaling in a notebook, taking coffee orders for the pretend coffee shop, baking some "number cookies" to serve to a friend, or learning what types of objects roll down a ramp. Her classroom is engaging, and her teaching is passionate.

Mrs. Putlak didn’t realize she wanted to be a teacher until she had kids of her own. After volunteering in classrooms, and then working as a classroom aide, her passion for early childhood education was ignited. She enjoys weaving science and technology into lessons in ways that her students can’t even detect. They just think they are having fun.

She loves her students and their families and makes sure that everyone feels welcome in her classroom.

“Mrs. Putlak is simply wonderful and parents praise her level of communication which makes them feel more at ease,” said Principal Jessica Kasten, “She has the biggest heart and her teaching is unparalleled.”

Congratulations, Karen Putlak, our 2023 WHAS/LG&E KU ExCEL Award winner!