# Five FCPS Music Educators Earn KMEA Regional Recognition **Published:** 2026-09-08T18:40:00.000Z **Source:** [Fayette County Public Schools](https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/kmea-salutes-five-educators-from-fcps) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/five-fcps-music-educators-earn-kmea-regional-recognition LEXINGTON, Ky. — Five music educators from Fayette County Public Schools have been recognized by the Kentucky Music Educators Association for their contributions to the field, according to [a district announcement](https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/kmea-salutes-five-educators-from-fcps). The educators received honors during the KMEA's District 7 fall meeting. Crystal Peters of Veterans Park was named Elementary Teacher of the Year, while Laura Summers of Edythe J. Hayes earned the Middle School Teacher of the Year award. Michael Payne of Bryan Station High School received the High School Teacher of the Year designation. Julie Strange, principal of Wellington Elementary, was named Administrator of the Year. Additionally, Kristi Broady of Southern Middle School received a Citation for Service recognition. The awards represent part of the Kentucky Music Educators Association's ongoing recognition program for music professionals across the state. KMEA is the state-level affiliate of the National Association for Music Education and consists of professional music educators from kindergarten through university levels throughout Kentucky. District 7 includes music education programs across eight counties: Fayette, Jessamine, Woodford, Franklin, Scott, Harrison, Bourbon, and Clark. ## Sources - [Fayette County Public Schools](https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/kmea-salutes-five-educators-from-fcps) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Fayette County Public Schools, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/kmea-salutes-five-educators-from-fcps.