The governor, lieutenant governor and commissioner of education will present the inaugural Kentucky Education Support Staff Professional Award to two honorees. The new state award recognizes classified school employees who have displayed excellence in serving students. Kentucky has more than 46,000 classified school employees who serve a vital and often overlooked role in Kentucky’s schools and districts.

The winners are representing Kentucky in the competition for the first-ever national Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) Award. The RISE award was passed by Congress and is overseen by the U.S. Department of Education and will be announced later this spring.