SYLACAUGA, Ala. – Sylacauga High School special education teacher Kari Layton as been honored as Educator of the Year by the Talladega Area Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (GCEPD).
Layton recently received the award at the Annual Talladega Area GCEPD Awards luncheon held in the E.H. Gentry cafetorium of the Alabama Instititute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) surrounded by other educators in the Talladega County area.
The Alabama Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (AGCEPD) is a program of the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS.) Its primary goals are educating the public about the benefits of hiring people with disabilities and promoting greater independence for people with disabilities.
Layton has been a special education teacher at SHS for two years. She was a 2015 graduate of Huntingdon College and did her internship in a fifth grade inclusive classroom and PALS (Practical Application of Life Skills) unit at Flowers Elementary in Montgomery. The PALS program gave her experience with students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EDB), Down Syndrome, and other disorders. She was named Outstanding Senior in Special Education while at Huntingdon.
She was nominated for the Educator of the Year Award by SHS job coach Debra Atkinson who said, “Kari has taken her students under her wing and brought out the best in them. She has worked at Camp ASCCA as a summer counselor and at MANE (Montgomery Area Non-Traditional Equestrian) as a riding instructor assistant. Since coming to Sylacauga High, Mrs. Layton has worked with the Challenger Baseball League, escorted one of her students during a beauty pageant, and chaperoned students from her class to participate in the Junior/Senior Prom. She is also sponsor of the Junior Civitan Club, leading young people into community service at their school and in the community.”
Kari Layton will now represent Talladega County at the state level and advances for consideration as State Educator of the Year.