Karen Keyworth

Karen has chosen to work with the students often considered to be the most challenging: middle school, special education, and alternative education students. As both teacher and principal she has committed herself to their success and been rewarded for her efforts by their achievements.

As a teacher, she recognized the unique needs of the middle school student for engaging, relevant instruction and utilized that knowledge to design and pilot a co-teaching model that blended special education and regular education students in the same classroom. Using differentiated instructional approaches, she was able to raise the achievement level for all students. This approach was so effective it has spread across the Maryland school district in which she worked.

As a principal, she installed on-going staff development programs that improve teaching strategies to bring instruction in line with student needs and state and federal guidelines. She also redesigned the instructional program to include more support services for her students and their families to ensure her students came to school ready to learn.