Local Teachers Honored

A trio of area teachers are among those being honored by the the Kansas State Department of Education as recipients of the 2025 Kansas Horizon Award, a program recognizing the outstanding teaching skills of new educators. Area teachers being honored include:

Emma Lidstrom, Coronado Elementary School, Salina USD 305
Jessyka Mikkelson, Southeast of Saline Elementary School, Southeast of Saline USD 306
Sarah Schlottman, Abilene High School, Abilene USD 435

According to the agency, the 32 educators chosen for this prestigious award will be honored at a special ceremony during the Kansas Exemplary Educators Network State Education Conference on Feb. 21, in Topeka.

The Kansas Horizon Award program allows all school districts in the state to nominate one elementary and one secondary teacher for the award. To be eligible, teachers must have successfully completed their first year of teaching and have performed in such a way as to distinguish themselves as outstanding.

Four elementary and four secondary classroom teachers may be selected for the award from each of the state’s four regions that correspond to the state’s U.S. congressional districts.

The 2025 Kansas Horizon Award recipients are as follows:

Region 1

Dalton Kraus, Victoria Elementary School, Victoria USD 432
Emma Lidstrom, Coronado Elementary School, Salina USD 305
Anglie Linden, Lyons Middle School, Lyons USD 405
Jessyka Mikkelson, Southeast of Saline Elementary School, Southeast of Saline USD 306
Rylie Sanders, Buhler High School, Buhler USD 313
Sarah Schlottman, Abilene High School, Abilene USD 435
Kiley Seidl, Haven Grade School, Haven USD 312
Brayden Smith, Hays High School, Hays USD 489

Region 2