Teacher of the Year
Gross earns Kentucky’s top honor
TAYLORSVILLE
Michelle Gross became interested in teaching while still in high school. She worked as an after-school peer tutor, helping a fellow student at risk of not graduating with his 1999 classmates. That student did improve his grades, and Gross was there when he received his diploma. In that moment, she felt a sense of pride, and she knew, “This is something I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to teach.”
Gross, a Salt River Electric consumer-member, is Kentucky’s 2026 Teacher of the Year—and she was one of five finalists for National Teacher of the Year.
Gross earned a bachelor’s degree in middle school education and a master’s degree as a reading and writing specialist, both from University of the Cumberlands. She’s also a National Board Certified Teacher. For the past 20 years, she has taught seventh grade math at Spencer County Middle School.
With a passion for creating community in the classroom through project-based learning, Gross says, “I want my classroom to be one where students are cultivating curiosity and really seeing the relevance of math in the real-world connections and giving students a voice in mathematics.”
Michelle, her husband, Mike, and their son, Micah. Photo: Christy Walls
Gross’s favorite class project is Dream Homearama. Students calculate dimensions to create drawn-to-scale blueprints for their dream home and then use Zillow to help price their homes, plus mortgage calculators to consider future salary needs. The assignment culminates with over 100 community professionals, like real estate agents, architects and contractors, offering the students feedback on their displayed projects.
Gross is involved with several Spencer County Middle School programs, including the academic team, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Student Technology Leadership Program and Grizzlies Beyond the Bell. She also serves as the district academic team coordinator.
A coworker nominated Gross for Kentucky’s Teacher of the Year. “When you win an award such as this, it’s wonderful, but it’s also humbling because you’re like, I’m just a teacher,” says Gross. “I just do what I do.”
This recognition has given Gross opportunities to discuss vibrant learning experiences on different platforms, to be a voice for students and other teachers and to represent Spencer County.
“Teachers work really, really hard,” says Gross. “I watch teachers work hard, and so to be able to highlight teachers and the work that they do and celebrate that, that’s important.”
AMY COBB is the author of two book series for children, Band Geeks and Libby Wimbley.
