Asbury Music Educators Receive Recognition
October 3, 2024
Two Asbury University Music Education alumni received recognition at the Kentucky Music Educators Association District 7 meeting. Dylan Schatko ’13 received the District General Music Chair and District 7 Elementary Music Teacher of the Year, and Olivia Kramer ’22 received District Orchestra Chair.
“We are very pleased to learn that these fine educators are being recognized by their peers,” said Professor of Music Education Dr. Glen Flanigan ’82. “Dylan and Olivia are excellent musicians and enjoy sharing the joy of music-making with their students. They consistently place a high priority on providing the best possible learning experiences while showing great care for the well-being of the young people whom they teach.”
Kramer reflects on her Asbury experience.
“Asbury University does extremely well in preparing student educators to become teachers,” said Kramer, who teaches in Fayette County Public Schools. “During my first year of teaching, I visited with a mentor at the end of the first night of KMEA, and he said something I will never forget: ‘Do you want your students to play music well, or do you want them to be good people?’ There is such a larger picture of being a teacher than grades and lesson plans. I fully believe that teaching is something you have to love.”
“Asbury Music Education students receive very thorough instruction and guidance from both the Music Department and the School of Education,” Flanigan said. “In addition, significant time is spent in clinical experiences in area schools so that graduates are well prepared to begin their teaching careers.”
Asbury educators continue to make a difference, with alumna Jennifer Puckett ’01 Montgomery recently receiving the 2025 Kentucky Teacher of the Year award from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).
“Winning Kentucky Teacher of the Year is an honor, but it is a shared honor,” said Montgomery, who graduated from Asbury with an English major before pursuing additional education. “I didn’t win this title on my own, but through shared experiences with colleagues, administrators, family members, community members, friends, and students who have all shaped my journey. Teaching is an art. I like to think of it as a tapestry, filled with threads of thousands of experiences I have had over the last two decades, both good and bad, which the Lord has woven together to create something that only He could.”
The Asbury University School of Education and its educator preparation programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and approved by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB). Asbury University is also an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music.
The Asbury University Music Department offers a major in Music (with emphases in composition and arranging, instrumental performance, pre-music therapy, vocal performance, and church music leadership), a major in Music Education (with emphases in general music education, instrumental music education, vocal/choral education, and combined instrumental/vocal education), and a minor in Music.