LEXINGTON, Ky. — Special groups in Lexington are receiving Golden Apple Awards for their dedication toward student academic success.
Members of Lexington's city government, health and faith groups are showing support toward students graduating and competing in working environments.
Highlighting their efforts, FCPS Superintendent Demetrus Liggins and leaders met at Central Bank Center for the annual State of Schools affair on Wednesday, which was held for the first time in three years due to the pandemic.
According to the FCPS website, "The Golden Apple Awards go to high-performance community partners that provide an exceptional commitment of time, energy, and expertise to individual schools or the Fayette County district as a whole through mentorships and varied programs and initiatives."
This year's "A New Way Forward” initiative was formed under Liggins leadership. He said partners are advocating for newer results within the school system.
“It really came about because when I was meeting with hundreds and thousands of stakeholders, and people kept saying we’ve had these conversations over and over again, and we’re still in the same place, we still haven’t made nearly enough progress as we should," Liggins said.
The fundraiser recognizes individuals and teams with the Golden Apple Partnership Award.
One of the 2022 recipients, violence prevention coordinator at CHI Saint Joseph Demetria Blair, is a product of FCPS.
She said she is honored to watch students in this city succeed.
“I’ve worked with countless, hundreds of children in the system from elementary all the way through high school, and to me, personally, it is extremely rewarding to see the great talent that we have in our students and see them excel to do such great things in the community," Blair said.
Liggins, who completed his first year as FCSP superintendent, said he is thrilled for the future.
“This is an amazing community, amazing students and a lot of exciting things will be happening. So I'm just excited to be a part of it, excited to be able to lead the work that will be moving forward," Liggins said.
Liggins said Fayette has produced students that will attend each of the eight Ivy league universities, and that the school district is second in the nation to Dade County, Florida in having the most students receiving scholarships.