Dr. Tyler Saylor empowers his students to think like scholars in his 11th and 12th grade English classes at Harlan High School. He transforms his classroom into a writing lab where students fully immerse themselves in the writing process, learning how to craft compelling arguments, strengthen their voice and take readers on a journey through their words. Saylor pairs this approach with rigorous instruction and high expectations, challenging students to push beyond their comfort level. Students recognize the value of Saylor’s challenging methods, oftentimes returning to Harlan to share success stories and crediting his teaching with helping them build confidence and critical-thinking skills in their writing abilities. This type of vibrant learning creates a bridge between high school, higher education and life beyond the classroom with clear results. Saylor’s students consistently rank among the top performers on the state summative assessment, with 98% achieving proficient or distinguished scores in on-demand writing in 2025.
Saylor regularly integrates innovative instructional practices in his classroom and builds relationships with his students and their families. He created essay-writing rap battles where students wrote and performed rap songs as a form of argumentative essay writing. Parents are invited to participate in their child’s education by visiting and observing presentations and projects, listening to student-produced podcasts and viewing digital portfolios.
Saylor’s leadership and influence extend beyond Harlan to the statewide level. He served in the Kentucky Department of Education’s GoTeachKY Ambassador Program and on the Teachers Advisory Council, where his classroom experience and perspective were vital to the group’s missions of attracting, supporting and retaining effective educators across the Commonwealth. A byproduct of this work was his development of the GoTeach future teacher scholarship to inspire and support high school seniors interested in pursuing education as a career.
Saylor earned his Bachelor of Arts in English education with secondary certification in 2019 and his Master of Arts in education in 2022 from Union Commonwealth University, where he now serves as an adjunct instructor and education studies advisor. He went on to receive a Master of Arts in English from Arizona State University in 2022 and a Doctor of Education with a specialization in education leadership from Liberty University in 2024.
Press release: Harlan High’s Hardworking English Teacher Surprised with 2026 Kentucky Milken Educator Award and $25,000
