Blue Valley Northwest math teacher Kate Gabel is the district's secondary nominee for the 2027 Kansas Horizon Award, following district recognition presented during her class Aug. 26.
The award caught Gabel mid-lesson.
"I had no idea … I was in the middle of teaching a lesson, so I was not prepared for that interruption at all," Gabel said, according to BVNWnews.
The Kansas Horizon Award Program, run by the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), recognizes outstanding first-year teachers in elementary and secondary classrooms across Kansas.
Each district may nominate one elementary classroom teacher and/or one secondary classroom teacher, according to the KSDE program page. Gabel, who started teaching at Blue Valley in 2025, was first selected as Blue Valley Northwest's school-level nominee, then chosen as the district's secondary nominee, according to BVNWnews.
Kindergarten teacher Hadley Schafer of Leawood Elementary was named the district's elementary nominee, according to a Blue Valley Schools announcement published as sponsored content by the Johnson County Post.
Gabel's teaching philosophy centers on helping students build confidence in math. She said understanding each student's individual needs allows her to keep everyone on pace with the curriculum, according to BVNWnews. Gabel said she hadn't anticipated the honor going past the building level.
Colleagues described specific classroom habits that set Gabel apart. Instructional design coach Kari Hillen shadowed one of Gabel's class periods and noted how Gabel opens each session with a "bell ringer," randomly assigning students to groups at whiteboards around the room to work through problems together.
Hillen called the technique a "vertical non-permanent surfaces." Other geometry teachers at Blue Valley Northwest adopted the strategy, according to BVNWnews. Hillen said she then shared the approach with teachers in other subject departments.
Math teacher Laura Deffer, who wrote a recommendation letter for Gabel's state application, pointed to her individualized attention to struggling students.
"She's going to figure out another way to interact with that student or another way to approach that concept," Deffer said, according to BVNWnews.
Deffer also noted that Gabel makes a point of connecting with students individually, chatting about their lives outside the classroom before lessons begin.
At the state level, KSDE divides the competition into four regions and can name up to eight winners per region, split evenly between elementary and secondary, for as many as 32 honorees statewide, according to the KSDE program page. BVNWnews reported that state results are expected in late December. Winners will be recognized at the Kansas Exemplary Educators Network (KEEN) conference in February.
