ELECTIONS

KIM SERGENT, Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative

Kim Sergent is in her thirty-ninth year dedicated to public education, currently serving as the Social Studies Program Specialist for the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) in Hazard, Kentucky, supporting 26 districts across Eastern Kentucky. During her twenty-seven years in the classroom, she taught a wide array of courses, including AP U.S. History, AP World History, Sociology, and diverse electives ranging from Kentucky Studies to Human Rights in History.

A passionate advocate for inquiry-based learning and disciplinary literacy, Kim’s recent work focuses heavily on place-based education. She collaborates with districts across the KVEC region to implement local history projects that leverage a community lens to teach Social Studies, helping students access our nation’s story by understanding how these events and people impacted their community through oral histories and family stories. In 2021, she led a regional team presenting their "Inquiry through Place-based Education/Project-based Learning" collaboration at both the Appalachian Studies Association and the National Forum to Advance Rural Education conferences. Her most recent initiative, funded by the NCHE Rural Experience in America grant, connected teachers and local museums to collaboratively chronicle community narratives, specifically exploring how geography has shaped cultural and economic development. This transformational approach changes how students view their hometowns, empowering them to become active stewards of their heritage.

CAYLYN LEMASTER, Ashland Independent

Caylyn Lemaster is an elementary educator at Crabbe Elementary in the Ashland Independent School District in Kentucky. She has 13 years of experience in teaching. Caylyn earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Morehead State University and her Master’s Degree in Teacher Leader Social Studies from the University of the Cumberlands. Caylyn studied, “Teaching Students to Ask Their Own Questions,” through Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Right Question Institute. Specializing in Elementary Social Studies, Caylyn has used that experience to provide an elementary voice on the following committees: Teacher Advisory Council for the National Constitution Center, the advisory panel for revising the Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies, the Kentucky Council for the Social Studies Steering Committee, Chair the KCSS Educate Subcommittee, as well as on the NCSS Themes Standards Task Force(co-chaired the last leg of the work). She worked with the Kentucky League of Cities on Civics Curriculum Development for primary grades. Using her experience and expertise, Caylyn advocates for effective elementary social studies education.

On a personal note, Caylyn is a Christian and works with the youth at the church she attends. She is happily married and has a calico cat named Bella.

CARLY MUETTERTIES, CommonGood

Carly Muetterties, Ph.D., is a former high school social studies teacher and co-founder of CommonGood, a learning design company.She founded the Kentucky Civic Education Coalition and designed the Kentucky Civic Seal Program to empower young people to take action in their communities. She has been a committee member of KCSS since 2015.  Carly has been working in education as an instructor/teacher and learning design specialist for 20 years.

ERIK RANSOM, Jefferson County

Erik Ransom is a teacher at Ballard High School in Louisville currently in his 18th year in education.  At Ballard, Erik serves as PLC lead for Criminal Justice and is the advisor of the Student Y Chapter.  In 2025, he was inducted into the Kentucky YMCA Advisor Hall of Fame.  He has served on the KCSS Steering Committee for the past six years and is looking forward to continuing his work with the organization.