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Kansas City Today

And the award for Kansas Teacher of the Year goes to ...

By Nomin Ujiyediin,
Byron J. Love
Published October 9, 2025 at 4:00 AM CDT
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Kansas' 2026 Teacher of the Year is Rachel Marlow, a music teacher at an Olathe elementary school. Her students say she deserves the award because she goes above and beyond in her classes.

Students at Central Elementary School in Olathe know what makes a great teacher: patience, a sense of humor and the know-how to make learning fun. KCUR's Jodi Fortino tells us about one such teacher who just happened to be recognized by the state for her excellence in the classroom.

Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, Jacob Smollen, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Emily Younker, Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

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Kansas City Today teacherseducationKansas Department of Educationawards
Nomin Ujiyediin
As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
See stories by Nomin Ujiyediin
Byron J. Love
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
See stories by Byron J. Love
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