Erin Ball, an eighth-grade English language arts teacher at Georgetown Middle School, is the 2020 Kentucky Teacher of the Year. Ball describes herself as a teacher who strives to ignite a love of reading that will enhance the classroom and real-world success in her students. She teaches in the community of Georgetown, the home of Georgetown College, where Ball received her bachelor of the arts in English education in 2014, and her masters of education in teacher leadership in 2018. "Literacy leads to success in school, success in a career and success in life,” said Ball, who instructs in a school where 25 percent of the students are minority and 63 percent are designated to receive free or reduced-priced lunches. “It’s my responsibility to be a culturally-competent teacher because reading is critical to the success of all students – especially as they encounter the reading material in an information-age economy,” Ball stated. Ball strives to instill and foster a love of reading in her eighth graders. From the first day of school, she connects students with books they love and collects interest inventories to make individualized recommendations to each student.  Ball avidly reads young adult novels from a variety of genres to ensure she has a diverse collection of books in her classroom library. She regularly searches used book stores, yard sales and thrift stores for high-interest novels, biographies, and other reading materials. Ball’s greatest accomplishment in education has been growing an intrinsic interest of reading in her students.