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JOSEPH KEENEY: I try to respect kids, regardless of their level of ability, and just value the fact that they’re a part of our family. Our orchestra, despite anything that is going on with scheduling or ability or whatever was happening, I just wanted them to feel a part of the family but also enjoy the music-making process.

HANNAH BOWYER-RIVETTE: Hello everybody, and welcome back to Inspiring Teachers: The Honored Podcast where we shine a spotlight on life-changing teachers across the country. I’m Hannah, your podcast host, and our podcast is brought to you by Honored, which is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring and elevating great teachers nationwide. Our mission is to inspire and retain great teachers, keeping them in the classroom as long as possible. Every month at Honored, we select an exceptional educator in the United States to be the recipient of the Honored National Teaching Award. Each Honoree, as we call them, gets a $5,000 cash reward and we then tell the story on our website and our social media platforms of how that teacher has impacted their student’s lives. To learn more about our organization, you can go to our website at Honored.org. While you’re there, if you have a teacher you would like to recognize, you can nominate them at Honored.org/nominate. We are so excited to have you listening in on another Honoree podcast episode. Today we are joined by Joseph Keeney, a high school orchestra teacher at Lee’s Summit North High School in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. He was nominated for this award by his student, Evita Churchill. Today we are also joined by Evita and her mom, Jennifer.

Before we dive into Mr. Keeney’s story, we are excited to kick off our Honoree episode with our special segment ‘Teachers Who Inspired’, which is featured at the beginning of each episode. Here, we invite well-known individuals to share a story about a teacher who had a lasting impact on their lives. These stories remind us that behind every great achievement, there’s often an inspiring teacher who believed in their potential. Today, we’re thrilled to have our guest on our special segment, Wendy Kopp, who will share about a teacher who left an incredible impact on their journey. Wendy Kopp is CEO and Co-founder of Teach For All, a global network of organizations in 63 countries working to develop collective leadership to ensure all children can fulfill their potential. Prior to launching Teach For All in 2007, Wendy founded and led Teach For America – which has proven to be an unparalleled source of long-term leadership for expanding opportunity for children in the United States – for 24 years, she led the development of Teach For All to be responsive to the initiative of social entrepreneurs around the world who were determined to adapt this approach in their own countries. Wendy holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, as well as honorary doctorate degrees from 15 universities. She has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Wise Prize for Education, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, and the Schwab Foundation’s Outstanding Social Entrepreneur Award. Wendy Kopp is also a member of Honored’s National Advisory Board.

WENDY KOPP: Hi, I’m Wendy Kopp. I founded Teach For America way back in the day, many, many years ago and have been serving as the CEO of Teach For All, which is a global network of similar organizations in more than 60 countries and growing. And I wanted to share a bit about a teacher who’s been inspiring me lately, whose name is Bridgette Donald-Blue. She’s celebrating her 32nd year in teaching. This year, she’s teaching math in the Los Angeles Unified School District at Coliseum Street Elementary and joined Teach For America way back in 1992 when she graduated from Howard University. She had majored in psychology and english, and she was headed to law school, but decided to first commit two years to Teach For America. And she told me about the moment when she decided to make this her career and I just love this story. She was studying for the LSAT in her school’s cafeteria, and some students came over to her and she started sharing what she was working on, which was, you know, she was working on logic games, and she ended up teaching the kids how to do the logic games, and then thinking about how to bring them into her classroom.

And it was through all of that that she just realized, “you know what? Maybe I’ve found my way to my life’s work.” And I’m so glad she did because she has impacted so many students and families through that decision. So much so that she was actually honored as California’s State Teacher of the Year a year ago. But I asked Bridgette for her advice to new teachers and just love her answer. It resonates so much with what I’ve come to see generates progress in education, she said. “Don’t think you need to be everything. You’re one piece in a puzzle and it will be your collaboration with many others that makes the difference.” That just resonates so much with what I’ve seen, which is that ultimately, it takes what I’ve come to call collective leadership to ensure that our young people fulfill their potential. By which I mean people around the whole ecosystem, around kids who are just all committed to students thriving and who are working together collaboratively, reflecting together, learning together in that pursuit. So thank you, Bridgette, for showing us the way and for your incredible dedication over so many years.

HANNAH BOWYER-RIVETTE: We are so grateful to Wendy Kopp for sharing her incredible story for our ‘Teachers Who Inspired’ segment. Throughout the rest of the episode, we’ll share Mr. Keeney’s story and the amazing impact he has had on students and parents. To start us off, you’ll hear from Mr. Keeney, who shares about his journey to where he is now as he reflects on his path to becoming an orchestra teacher.

JOSEPH KEENEY: Well, this is my 30th year teaching. It was actually an orchestra director that inspired me to become a teacher, but it wasn’t immediate inspiration. I came from a home with an unexpected single mom with five kids. When I was in fifth grade dad had left the house, which was actually a good thing. And my mom had never had any full-time job and no college degree with five kids, a mortgage, and a car payment. And so things were a little rough financially. That didn’t bother me at all. My mom worked two jobs all the time. I got a job at 14 to help pay for things, and so I had it in my mind that I was going to get my GED. I work on cars, and I have uncles and many family members that work on cars as well. I was actually used to wrenching on cars even at a younger age. And so I had it in my mind, I was going to get my GED my sophomore year and become a mechanic so I could pay for things. And it was my orchestra director because I really loved playing, I got good grades. But I just wanted a solution to help out with what was happening at home. And she took me aside and said, “hey, you know, I think you’d be a good teacher.” And at first I thought, this is not a good idea, because I didn’t think teachers made enough money. Because at the point I was looking for financial security at the age of 15. You don’t know much at all, at least I didn’t.

And she took me aside and said, “hey, look, here’s how much I make, here’s my paycheck stub. This is where I live, come take a couple of days with me.” And she took me out of school and she showed me because a lot of us orchestra teachers, music teachers actually travel and they’ll teach middle school and high school. And she taught elementary, middle school, and high. And I got to travel with her and I thought, “this is actually pretty cool. I think I’ll stay in school.” So I stayed in school, went to UMKC, University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. I got my education degree there. And throughout, after I got my bachelor’s and I got my master’s, I continued to teach and continued to stay in touch with my music teacher, orchestra teacher, Miss Keen. And she actually was a godsend throughout my first couple of years, you know, helping me out with choosing music. And how do you teach this and how do you teach that. She’s since have passed, but I was very fortunate to be able to, you know, tell her thank you and tell her how much she meant to me for the inspiration. So I grew up in this area. I’ve taught this area and this is my third school district, but been in this district for 21 years now and it’s been great. Some years back I got my automotive tech degree and still work on cars as well as a hobby, so I was able to fulfill that need to be creative with cars.

HANNAH BOWYER-RIVETTE: Mr. Keeney is celebrated by his students for his ability to make learning fun. He creates a lighthearted and supportive environment where students can stay engaged and enjoy making music. For Evita, orchestra wasn’t just another class, it was a place where she could truly enjoy herself while exploring her passion for music.

EVITA CHURCHILL: Being in his orchestra, it was always very fun because he would always tell really funny stories before class, Or even if he got distracted, which happened a little bit, kind of a lot, but it was always great to hear the stories that he would tell us. And he would also let us help pick what music we got to play for concerts and stuff, which I always really enjoyed being able to have like a say in it. Because a lot of orchestra teachers, I feel like don’t let you help pick the music.

HANNAH BOWYER-RIVETTE: Mr. Keeney’s fun and engaging teaching isn’t just appreciated by his students, it extends to their parents as well. Jennifer, Evita’s mom, shares more about how the parents have the opportunity to witness the excitement and creativity he brings to his teaching through the school concerts. These moments not only showcase his talent as an educator but also create a sense of community where parents can see firsthand the joy and growth their children experience in his classroom.

JENNIFER CHURCHILL: I know one of the big things that Evita would talk about after concerts and I went to every concert is there’s is a point, in I think almost every concert, if not close to every, where he’ll get in the group and actually play with the students. There was one time. 

EVITA CHURCHILL: He put on a wig.

JENNIFER CHURCHILL: That’s what I was going to say. He put on a wig and I was like, “wait a minute, is that Mr. Keeney?” I didn’t realize it was him at first because he had a long hair wig on, and he’s just playing like one of the students. And I mean, he gets down there and plays them. And it’s so funny because as parents now we kind of wait for it, like, okay, what’s he going to do now? And I think it’s just really created that environment that makes it so unique and so much more fun for them to learn. And teenagers these days, in my opinion, are it’s harder to engage with because she’s the baby of seven and this generation is different to me than the others. So I imagine his role is quite difficult.

HANNAH BOWYER-RIVETTE: In their nomination of Mr. Keeney, Evita highlighted his ability to create a safe and supportive environment for his students. Reflecting on this, Mr. Keeney shares how this value was instilled in him by his own orchestra teacher. He shares how this relationship influences his approach to teaching, treating every student with respect regardless of their musical ability, and fostering a space where they can embrace the joy of making music.

JOSEPH KEENEY: Well, I wanted to make it a good, strong priority because that’s the way I felt with my orchestra director. And I felt like as a family, as an orchestra. And so it’s a little bit easier as an orchestra teacher or even a band or a choral teacher because you get to see your students for a while. You know, I get to see my students in seventh, eighth grade all the way through 12th. And so getting to know someone longer than just eight months, you know, it’s going to foster that. You get to know them for a while and start to build connections. And so I always wanted to make it a priority. I think the thing about it is, is I try to respect kids, regardless of their level of ability, and just value the fact that they’re a part of our family, our orchestra. Despite anything that is going on with scheduling or ability or whatever was happening. I just wanted them to feel a part of the family, but also enjoy the music-making process.

Making music is a difficult task, but in the end, it’s joy when you get to finish that on many levels, from the sense of accomplishment to the actual liking, the music. And that’s something that I really wanted my students to be vocal about, is if, when choosing the music, I wanted them to hear it and hear the finished product is and say, “hey, do you guys like this?” because I want them to really like the music.So fostering that family, that caring aspect or atmosphere in the classroom is helping them have a voice with what’s going on, be it a team member, be a family and meet them to where they’re at, regardless of where they’re at. They always are going to be bringing something special to that classroom, and I want them to know that I know that. It’s not always easy to do that, you know, but it’s always been a high priority to make sure that the kids feel like it is a safe space. I think also making sure that students know that they can come and talk to me, and I try not to judge. It’s hard as a human being not to judge, but I do my best not to judge people where they’re at and meet them where they’re at and help them out wherever or whatever is happening in their lives. And it doesn’t even have to be about music. So I had that with my orchestra teacher. You know, there were days where I, I was just, it was rough being a teenager, and she would just listen. A lot of times she didn’t have, there’s no advice to give. It’s just a listening ear. So I like to provide that as much as possible as well. So I learned from my teacher how to foster that.

HANNAH BOWYER-RIVETTE: Expanding on his commitment to meeting students where they are, Mr. Keeney shares a heartwarming story from his first year of teaching. He recalls adapting to support a student with a cochlear implant, an experience that taught him invaluable lessons about fostering an adaptive environment.

JOSEPH KEENEY: I learned in my very first year of teaching, I had a kid that moved in from Texas and he was beginning string’s, fourth grade strings, and he had a cochlear implant. So this is 1995 and cochlear implants at the time, kind of archaic compared to what they have now. So I was dealing with a kid that had never heard before and had just started hearing sounds, and they weren’t sure how he was interpreting, how his brain was interpreting it, and he wanted to play violin. So you can imagine that task of trying to teach someone who’d never really heard before, but maybe 2 or 3 weeks prior. Still was undergoing treatment to help process that. And he actually learned how to, with the help of my students, see symbols relate it to where my fingers go. We had kids tap them on the back for rhythm. Kid did great. Kid could play along. And at first I was overwhelmed and I thought this. “How does one do this?” And I learned from the students how to be more accepting because they were like, “oh, he can do it. Let’s do this.” They actually came up with some of the ideas, like the tapping on the shoulder and the reward system that we had in place for good behavior. And he did a solo on our first concert. He knocked it out of the park. I just know that music can be played by all, by everybody, and everyone brings something to the classroom. And I learned a lot just from that experience and wanted to continue that all through, you know, the last 30 years.

HANNAH BOWYER-RIVETTE: Mr. Kenney’s impact extends beyond his students to their families as well. Evita’s mother, Jennifer, shares more about the incredible impact Mr. Keeney has had on Evita. She shares how even during the most challenging days, Evita was always excited about orchestra. Mr. Keeney’s support, compassion, and encouragement, both in and out of the classroom have made a lasting impression on them.

JENNIFER CHURCHILL: So Evita has been through a lot in life. Her father has passed away, she is a DV survivor, she is a member of the LGBTQ plus community. So she’s experienced a lot of bullying, a lot of other things, and she used art and music as her therapy tools. Well, when she met Mr. Keeney, she really liked him. There was something about him before she really knew, and I think it was the stories and things like that. But even when she didn’t want to go to school and later on she was diagnosed with a conversion disorder where her emotions will get so overwhelming that she’ll have physical symptoms. So it was hard for her to go to school, but she still wanted to go to orchestra and that was like the one class. She’d want to miss the rest of the day, but she wanted to go to orchestra and she has always spoken so positive about him because no matter what she would talk about, he would accept it.

JENNIFER CHURCHILL: She wanted to be able to go out of town for the trip to Florida for orchestra, and I was very nervous about it because of her disorder. And she’s like, no, Mr. Keeney had it set up that there were students that knew about her disorder in class, so if he couldn’t see it, they could immediately help her. He was always just compassionate with her, with everything that she had experienced. He knew her background because I know that, I don’t know if it was more of you spoke it with him or we try to be very communicative with the school, but he was always compassionate with her and it made a huge difference with her, especially for the fact that she doesn’t have a father around because he’s passed and we moved here ten years ago. We don’t have any family local at all. So for her to have such a positive male in her life, that really kind of helped her develop education and creativity really seem to stick with her. It really helped her. She told me after the fact that she had nominated him and I could see it. I mean, she has socks with his face on it, literally. We have a picture of him from a candy cane attached to our refrigerator.

EVITA CHURCHILL: I have a picture of him that he signs that says Mr. Special K on my picture door with my friends.

JENNIFER CHURCHILL: She just really took to him. And I think just the fact that he was so compassionate with her and understanding, besides encouraging her to play and encouraging her, even if she didn’t feel like she was the highest level that she could achieve just to keep striving and you’re doing amazing. And then also encouraging her outside of the classroom really made an impact for her. She stayed in orchestra for years because of him.

HANNAH BOWYER-RIVETTE: Whether through small gestures of encouragement or adapting to her needs, Mr. Keeney created an environment where Evita felt valued and capable of thriving. Evita shares how his support and encouragement have made a difference in her life. Living with conversion disorder has presented unique challenges, but Evita shares how Mr. Keeney’s understanding helped her navigate those difficulties.

EVITA CHURCHILL: Whenever I first got diagnosed with my conversion disorder we started setting up a 504 Plan and I was in, I think, eighth grade. So it was just whenever I first got Mr. Keeney as a teacher, is whenever I got diagnosed with it. And my 504 Plan just kind of like would say if I needed to, I could go to the counselor’s office or like the nurse’s room or anything. But Mr. Keeney also had it to where, like whenever my cousin passed away in December of last year, he let me go into the practice rooms every once in a while if I was just really upset and I could just practice in there, and so I wouldn’t be too overwhelmed with everyone.

HANNAH BOWYER-RIVETTE: Mr. Keeney’s dedication to meeting students where they are doesn’t go unnoticed by parents. Evita’s mother, Jennifer, reflects on how Mr. Keeney fosters an open line of communication, making it easy for parents to stay involved and informed. His ability to understand each student’s unique needs and tailor his support accordingly ensures that every student is seen.

JENNIFER CHURCHILL: I know that besides him fostering the community within the classroom and outside, I know even from a parent’s perspective, he makes it easy to communicate. He was always one of the teachers that does respond. When they went on a trip and we discussed finances because, you know, I’m a widowed single mother now, he was more than willing to see what he could do to try to help so that any student that wanted to go could to not leave any student out.

HANNAH BOWYER-RIVETTE: In our conversation with Mr. Keeney, he reflected on what truly makes teaching meaningful for him. And for him, it’s the little moments that leave the biggest impact. Whether it’s supporting his students through struggles or celebrating their successes, these everyday experiences fuel his passion for teaching. For Mr. Keeney, it’s not just about the music they create, but the growth and joy he sees in his students along the way.

JOSEPH KEENEY: Well, we all get inspired by different moments, and I’ve got lots, lots, lots, lots of memories of things that inspire me. From musical moments from on stage to just the little things like, you know, getting to see them go from eighth grade to their senior year, getting to see them grow up as humans is, I think, the biggest inspiration. To see them go from adolescence to adulthood, you feel like a proud parent. And I am a parent. I’m a parent of a 17 soon to be 18 year old and and a 16 soon to be 17. So it’s the same feeling of seeing them grow and mature and go through life and not just the struggles, but the successes and sharing it with them. That is an inspiration as a teacher. So it’s everything. Not just the music, not just the teaching, not just the successes we have on the stage, but the successes they have outside. You know, thank God for social media. You know, when my students leave as a high school, they can always friend me on a social media platform after they graduate. And I like to see where they, what happens. And in fact, I’ve played at several of my student’s weddings, and I’ve got to see, you know, the birth of one of the kids. It’s a long story, but why I was there, but I was in a hospital and some parents saw me and said, “hey, what are you doing here?” And I said, “well, I’m visiting blah, blah,” and they said “my daughter is in labor, she’s down here, she’s been in there for 12 hours.” So I got to see one of my students had a baby, and I got to see the baby after it was born. So that’s an inspiration too to see them be successful outside of life. And so I couldn’t pinpoint one little memory, but if you wanted me to talk about some of the memories, I think this podcast would last a long time. So that’s it in a nutshell.

HANNAH BOWYER-RIVETTE: Thank you so much for listening and joining us today to learn more about Joseph Keeney, our December Honoree and recipient of the Honored National Teaching Award. To read more about his story, you can visit our website at Honored.org or click the link in the episode description. If you have a teacher who you want to recognize and nominate for our teaching award, you can head to Honored.org/nominate to recognize a teacher today. If you enjoyed today’s episode, you can follow us and leave us a review on whatever podcast platform you’re listening in from. Thanks again for listening, and make sure to tune in next month to hear the incredible story of our January Honoree.