District Leadership proudly surprised two outstanding educators with the announcement that they have been chosen as the district’s 2026 Horizon Award representatives. Congratulations to Syrah Baxa, 3rd Grade Teacher at Stone Creek Elementary, and Alexis Mastrobuono, 8th Grade English Language Arts Teacher at Derby Middle School, on this well-deserved honor!

The Horizon Award program offers Kansas school districts an excellent opportunity to honor exemplary first-year teachers. The program, sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), recognizes and rewards teachers who have served as outstanding representatives of excellent teaching in the elementary and secondary classrooms during their first year of teaching and are currently in their second year of teaching. The recognition is a regional competition aligned with the state’s four U.S. congressional districts. KSDE convenes regional selection committees to review applications and select up to four elementary and four secondary teachers per region, recognizing as many as 32 outstanding educators statewide. Winners are honored each February at the Kansas Exemplary Educators Network (KEEN) State Education Conference in Topeka, where they receive special recognition for their exceptional contributions as emerging teachers.

This program shines a spotlight on the promise, passion and potential of Kansas’s newest educators, celebrating those who are shaping the future of education with excellence from the very start.