Jessica Napier ’00 (Photo: LEX 18)
Jessica Napier, a 2000 graduate of Berea College, has been named National Health Education Teacher of the Year by SHAPE America, an organization that champions health and physical educators at every level, from preschool to university graduate programs.
Napier, a Lee County, Kentucky native and health educator at Lee County Middle High School, has been teaching since 2003.
“It was such a shock,” Napier said upon learning of her award. “I don’t think there’s ever been a time in my life when I was so surprised and overcome with emotion.”
The SHAPE America Teacher of the Year program recognizes outstanding teachers in six categories, including physical education (elementary, middle and high school), adapted physical education, school health education, and dance education. SHAPE America membership is comprised of more than 200,000 health and physical education professionals across the United States.