County's Top Educator Is Known for Energy, Dedication

Biology and chemistry teacher Kelly Horan greets each student to her Reservoir High School classroom with a handshake.

"It gives me a connection," she said. "I can see their moods."

If she reads worry or sadness in a student's eyes, she tries to find out what is wrong.

Once everybody is settled and she launches into her lecture, Horan often breaks into song. "I'm a horrible singer," she admits with a mischievous smile. But she keeps the kids' attention. Sometimes she even dances.

"It helps for students to see how silly I am," says Horan, 30, a North Carolina native and daughter of a family physician and a longtime schoolteacher who became an outreach minister.

Recently, when she was called to the school office in Fulton, she wondered if she were in trouble. Instead, she learned she had been chosen to receive a 2008 Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award. She and 19 other teachers from the region will be honored tonight at a banquet at The Washington Post in the District. Each winner receives $3,000 and a Tiffany crystal apple.

In nominating letters submitted to The Post, colleagues, students and parents praised Horan's warmth and her vibrant teaching style.

"I am not sure I have ever encountered a person with more energy," wrote science instructional team leader Katherine Kol. "She always seems to be happy and positive, a quality that is enviable and fortunately infectious."

Horan received her bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina and her master's from UNC Wilmington. She taught high school in Pikesville, N.C., before leaving for Howard County.

She works with students of all abilities and helps prepare them for the biology High School Assessment test, which they must pass to graduate.

She also serves as director of the school's color guard team and choreographs routines. As for the songs and dances she performs in class, there is more to them than pure fun. She often combines them with memorization tricks to help her students master the principles she is teaching.

"It may seem silly that she does funny dance moves and songs, but these really help us learn and remember important facts for biology," wrote sophomore Paige Connor in a letter nominating Horan for the Agnes Meyer award. "She is not only a great teacher but you can see she really cares about us."

Horan works with other teachers as co-leader of the faculty's biology team. She also coordinates teaching and tutoring schedules for students who remain after school for extra help and works with many struggling students herself. And she organizes events that recognize student achievement throughout the year.

Horan's leadership and long hours have not escaped the notice of Principal Adrianne H. Kaufman, who wrote in her nominating letter:

"If all teachers aspired to the excellence and dedication of Kelly Horan, all students would receive an outstanding and remarkable education."