KEARNEY – Patsy Koch Johns has been selected as the 2024 UNK College of Education Distinguished Educator of the Year.
She will be honored at the 44th annual Distinguished Alumni Awards luncheon, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Oct. 11 in the Gala Room at the Regional Engagement Center, 2204 University Drive. Tickets are $25 per person ($30 starting Sept. 30) and $15 for children ages 12 and younger. They can be purchased until Oct. 2 at unkalumni.org/homecoming or by calling the UNK Alumni Association at 308-698-5271.
“Patsy’s dedication to ensuring children in Nebraska receive a quality education and have access to the arts is abundantly clear,” said Mark Reid, dean of the UNK College of Education. “She is a very deserving recipient of this award.”
Now retired, Koch Johns dedicated more than 40 years to the education of children in Nebraska, Arkansas, Georgia and Missouri.
After starting her teaching and coaching career out of state, she returned to Nebraska in 1976 and spent 24 years at Cozad Community School, where she led play production teams to four state championships and four state runner-up awards. In 2000, she began teaching and coaching at Lincoln High School, where her play production students earned five state championships and three state runner-up titles.
Koch Johns’ classroom and extracurricular efforts were recognized with multiple awards, including the 2006 Nebraska Teacher of the Year, Governor’s Excellence in Arts Education, Time Warner Golden Apple Award, Nebraska State Activities Association Outstanding Service Award, Nebraska Speech Communication and Theatre Association’s John Thurber Distinguished Teacher Award and National Federation of Interscholastic School Activities Speech/Theatre Educator Award.
She has been on the Nebraska State Board of Education since 2016, serving two terms as president.
Koch Johns has held leadership positions in the Nebraska Speech Communication and Theatre Association, Nebraska Thespians, Nebraska School Activities Association, Central Nebraska Forensic League, Nebraskans for the Arts, Lincoln Education Association, Cozad Education Association, Nebraska State Education Association and Angels Theatre Company. She has also served on numerous boards, including the National Federation of High School Activities, UNK Fine Arts Advisory Board and Lincoln Public Schools Foundation.
A Grand Island native and Grand Island Central Catholic graduate, Koch Johns earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Kearney State College in 1972. She also holds a master’s in theater from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
