Home

Kentucky State Representative Steve Bratcher, R-Elizabethtown, might have summed up Friday’s ExCEL Award Ceremony the best.

During his remarks, Bratcher said there are events who won’t be remembered years from now, but Elizabethtown Independent Schools will remember T.K. Stone Middle School math teacher Chris Appelman won the 2025-26 ExCEL Award.

That sentiment set the tone for a powerful and emotional celebration at the Elizabethtown Performing Arts Center, where Appelman, an outstanding educator known for his passion, drive, and commitment to students, was recognized in front of family, friends, special guests, and the entire student body.

In classrooms across Elizabethtown Independent Schools, new ideas are taking shape, creativity is being unleashed, and students are experiencing learning in new and meaningful ways—all thanks to the continued investment of the Elizabethtown Educational Fund.

For the second time this school year, the EEF has awarded Go Big E Grants, placing resources directly into the hands of teachers and into the heart of classrooms. These grants are designed to go beyond traditional funding, empowering educators to bring innovative, hands-on experiences to life for their students.

This latest round of funding reached 28 classrooms across the district, totaling more than $24,000 and impacting students from preschool through middle school. It builds on a previous round of grants awarded in December, reinforcing a commitment to sustained support throughout the year.

There are moments in a community’s story when the past and the future stand side by side. At T.K. Stone Middle School, that moment is happening now.

Originally opened in 1954 and named after former Superintendent Talton K. Stone, who led the district from 1953-71, the school has long been a cornerstone of Elizabethtown Independent Schools. Generations of students have walked its halls. Now, more than 70 years later, those same halls are being transformed to serve the next generation of Panthers.

The $22.6 million renovation project marks the third major update to the school’s classroom spaces, following previous renovations in 1993 and 2003. But this project is not simply an update. It is a reimagining of what a middle school can be.

For Chris Appelman, the journey to becoming Elizabethtown Independent Schools’ ExCEL Award winner began in a classroom. Not as a teacher, though. It began as a student.

A 2010 graduate of Elizabethtown High School, Appelman once walked the same hallways as the students he now teaches. He learned from educators who shaped his confidence, challenged his thinking, and inspired his future. Today, he stands at the front of a classroom at T.K. Stone Middle School, carrying that same impact forward.

Now, that journey has come full circle.