Yvette Martin, a teacher at Bardstown Elementary School, has been awarded the Fourth District Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) Elementary School Teacher of the Year.
The award honors those who exemplify teaching excellence in music education. Throughout Martin’s 24 years of teaching she has promoted a love for the arts in students through music, dance and drama. After graduating from EKU, Mrs. Martin began her music teaching career at Foster Heights Elementary. During those years she involved students in choirs (school, district and all state), musical theater, and dance performances. She has auditioned students for multiple All State events and each year many of her students have been selected for these honor choir events. In 2022, she was hired as the music teacher for Bardstown Elementary School (BES). Her first year at BES she started Tiger Tunes, a student chorus group, and a bucket drumming program called Tiger Beats and created the very first Step Team called SOS (School of Stomp). Additionally, Martin has organized several school and community performances including a Veterans Day celebration to honor our community veterans.
“Mrs. Martin is very deserving of this award,” said Dr. Ryan Clark, superintendent of Bardstown City Schools. “Her classroom and extracurricular programs have ignited a passion for music in our second through fifth grade students.”
Martin was selected for this award on September 11th during the Fourth District KMEA meeting. KMEA is a professional music educators’ organization consisting of more than 1,000 members in 12 districts. Each year, members from Fourth District KMEA nominate candidates to receive Elementary, Middle, High School, and Collegiate Teacher of the Year awards. Those candidates are then voted on for selection of the respective district’s (Teacher of the Year) recognitions. Mrs. Martin was one of five teachers nominated for the Fourth District KMEA Teacher of the Year.
Martin is now a finalist for the overall Kentucky Music State Elementary Teacher of the Year Award that will be awarded in February.
