Lafayette’s Walker Earns KDE Teacher Achievement Award

A long-time educator at Lafayette High School is among the nine 2026 Kentucky Teacher Achievement Award winners announced by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). Whitney Walker will now compete for High School Teacher of the Year honors and possibly overall Kentucky Teacher of the Year, which will be announced Oct. 7 in Frankfort. 

Walker, who is in her 20th year in the classroom, teaches Advanced Government, Advanced World Cultures, and AP Human Geography.

“My favorite part about my job is watching my students become invested in their learning and each other,” she said. “Watching a student develop and find their voice and then understand the value they hold is a teacher's dream, especially for a social studies teacher.”

She is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Kentucky, where for over 10 years she has taught a graduate course in the College of Education. 

After graduating from Carroll County High School, Walker attended Wallace State College in Alabama on a tennis scholarship. After two years she transferred to UK, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Education and secured her Rank 1 in 2020. 

KDE received 753 nominations for the Teacher Achievement Award, a 42 percent increase from the previous year, and judging was conducted by a blue-ribbon panel of veteran educators from across the state. All award recipients will receive cash prizes. The overall Kentucky Teacher of the Year gets $10,000 and the offer of a six-month sabbatical with KDE during their year as an ambassador of the teaching profession.