Columbia, S.C. – State Superintendent of Education Molly M. Spearman announced that a Lexington educator won an “Oscars of Teaching” award from the Milken Family Foundation, which included a $25,000 cash prize.

“I am so proud of Kimberly Freeman and the devotion she exhibits every day to the students and community in Lexington,” said Spearman.  “She is truly deserving of this great honor and will stand as a shining example for educators across our state. I want to thank the Milken Family Foundation for their hard work recognizing educators like Kimberly across the country. I am appreciative of our strong partnership and look forward to future collaboration to honor other outstanding South Carolina educators,” concluded Spearman.

“Kimberly Freeman has built Lexington Middle School’s Latin program into a vibrant community of learners spanning the district,” said Dr. Jane Foley, senior vice president of the Milken Educator Awards.  “Her passion, leadership and engaging instruction help students make important connections between Latin and its practical applications across the curriculum. I look forward to her contributions to the Milken Educator Network, and to following her career shaping generations of global citizens,” concluded Foley.

Freeman is a World Languages educator, teaching Latin at Lexington Middle School to students in grades 6-8.

In Freeman’s Latin world language classes at Lexington Middle, students are not only acquiring critical knowledge of a driving language for so many other subjects, but they are also being shaped into global citizens.

Freeman frames her lessons and assessment practices around collaboration and critical thinking, and has helped guide the district to a shift in performance-based curriculum for world languages. She developed a new system of proficiency assessment using a scaled model based on performance rubrics, self and external assessments, and Socratic seminars.

Freeman propelled the once-struggling Latin program to high enrollment at the school, and expanded its reach to 23,000 students districtwide through virtual courses. She has opened the door for learners to discover an ancient language and culture though a blended curriculum that links to modern tools and learning goals. This includes capitalizing on student interests of Harry Potter and mythology as well as The Hunger Games. Another example is having students read a Latin wedding song to understand the importance of children in Roman families, then write letters in Latin to Roman children. She also designed and instructs a new project-based learning course called 702 North Lake (the address of Lexington Middle School), in which students use social media tools to confront local and global issues.

Her students are thriving with work beyond their years. They routinely score above the national average on the National Latin Exam and outperform high school students in world language courses. Her Latin academic team placed first at the South Carolina Certamen Competition in spring 2014.

As chair of the world language department and teacher leadership team, communications officer for the school, and frequent presenter at local and national conferences, Freeman has made a significant impact on teachers and students alike. Colleagues follow her example, especially when it comes to building respectful relationships with students, and her insight is sought out by peers and administrators.

Freeman is an International Baccalaureate Middle Years certified teacher. She serves as a member of the American Classical League, National Junior Classical League, South Carolina Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, South Carolina Foreign Language Teachers Association as well as the district and state world language curriculum teams, the state standards writing team and the state Foundations in School Leadership (FSL) program.  Her strategies are leading the way toward producing plurilingual graduates, a key goal of the district.

Freeman earned a 2004 Bachelor of Arts in education with a classical languages concentration from Furman University.  She is scheduled to complete her master’s degree in educational leadership at the University of South Carolina in May 2016.

The Milken Educator Awards has been called the Oscars of Teaching by Teacher magazine. Learn more about the program and its commitment to honoring outstanding educators here.

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