HC’s Peña selected for KY TOY Award

HC Spanish teacher, Carlos Peña was recently nominated for the 2016 Ashland Inc. Teacher of the Year Achievement Award. Peña, along with 23 other teachers from around the state, and one of three teachers from Fayette County, will compete for the 2016 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Award.

Peña teaches all levels of Spanish at HC and is known for his entertaining method of teaching.

Peña has been a teacher for over 15 years and taught here at HC for 10, and was quite humble when he received the title.

“This is not a personal award, but it is a tribute to the great faculty and staff at Henry Clay,” he said.

Peña was enthusiastic when he found out he was nominated for teacher of the year. He believes his goal is to repay it to his former educators and colleagues that made him into the teacher and the person that he is today.

Peña credits the nomination to the faculty at HC, “There are so many other great teachers in this school that deserve this award more than me, so I owe it to them.”

“This award is not a personal accolade for me,” Peña said. “Many other colleagues and people in the field of education have taught and helped me a lot, and I feel now it is my responsibility to pass on those lessons.”

Peña loves the teaching environment, because of being around kids and encouraging them to learn.

“I became a teacher, because I want to help kids in the same way I was instructed growing up,” Peña said. “I understand that students have different ways of learning, so I mix up my teaching to make it easier and pleasurable for them.”

When students are just beginning to learn a language it can seem daunting, but Peña’s teaching style is flexible to support all types of learning.

“Mr. Peña is very understanding,” Freshman Lizzy Wolfe said. “He wants all of his students to succeed by making sure that everyone is always prepared.

Students that have had Peña enjoy how helpful he is, and how well he is able to adapt to their differing learning styles to learn about the Spanish culture and language.

“I had him for Spanish 3 last year and he was wonderful,” Sophomore Ella Jensen said. “He was a very lively teacher and made learning a foreign language enjoyable and easy even for beginners.”

Peña believes that the staff members at HC are the people that make it such a great environment. He referred to former principal John Notcha and others that have combined to shape his love for the profession.

“This is not an honor for me,” Peña said. “To me this validates the great history of education at HC.”