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Ken Almon has been a teacher in the Gwinnett County School System for over 40 years. His teaching career began at Norcross Elementary school in 1984 when he was hired to teach 5th grade. Almon received a number of awards during his time as a classroom teacher. He won the PTA Outstanding Educator Award in 1987 and was selected teacher of the year for Norcross Elementary in 1989 and 1995. Almon also won the Educator of the Year Award presented by Hopewell Baptist Church in 1998. Almon received the prestigious Milken National Educator Award in 1998 representing the state of Georgia. This award involved a trip to Los Angeles, California in addition to a $25,000 monetary gift. Almon was awarded the key to the city of Norcross in 1998 presented by Mayor Lillian Webb. In 2000 Almon was invited to the State Capitol by Governor Roy Barnes where he was recognized by the Governor in the Governor’s State of the State address followed by lunch at the Governor’s mansion. In 2005, Ken Almon authored the book Finding Favor With Your Students: National Award-Winning Educator Shares Strategies on Becoming the Teacher YourStudents Would Choose in which he shared his philosophy of teaching based on developing strong, lasting relationships with students. Almon also has served as a motivational speaker encouraging teachers and educators by sharing principles found in his book. Almon remained in 5th grade at Norcross Elementary for 29 years before switching from the classroom to the gymnasium, his first love.Almon created a “girl power” soccer program to provide an opportunity for girls interested in playing soccer but not financially able to afford high league fees. Although Almon no longer coaches competitive soccer, retiring after his last group of girls graduated from high school, a group he kept together from elementary (U12) to high school (U20), he still provides a “soccer experience” for fifth grade girls at Baldwin Elementary each spring. Almon now spends the majority of his time focusing on getting kids fit and moving through the sport of cross country and distance running. While at Norcross Elementary Almon organized an event among all the elementary schools in the Norcross Cluster, called the Cluster Mile. The event is held at the end of each school year at the Norcross High School track and all six cluster schools are invited to compete. The event is now known as the Cluster Mile and Track Meet as track events were added in 2023. In 2016, Almon’s Summerour Middle School Cross Country girls had their first undefeated season. The 2016 team also won the team’s only Middle School State Championship being crowned Georgia State Champions in the Large School JV Division. Almon was selected as the Youth Volunteer of the Year in 2018, an honor awarded by the Atlanta Track Club. In 2019, Almon and his Summerour Middle School Girls Cross Country Team received a Proclamation from the City of Norcross recognizing them for their remarkable 2019 season. The team placed 1st in the Gwinnett Country Cross Country Championships, the North Georgia Championships, the Carrollton Orthopedic Invitational versus High School JV Teams, theAubrae Gunderson Invitational, the Alexander-Asics Invitational, and 7A-Area 4 Championships. They were ranked as the 7th best team in the state of Georgia for two consecutive weeks. Eight members of that team qualified to represent Team Georgia in the Regional Junior Olympics Cross Country Championship Meet in Tallahassee, Florida and seven of those eight went on to qualify to represent Team Georgia in the national meet in Madison, Wisconsin.In February of 2025, Almon and twenty-eight representatives of his Juniors Running Program from Baldwin Elementary and Summerour Middle were invited to the Georgia State Capitol by State Representative Dr. Arlene Beckles to receive recognition for making an impact and difference in the community of Norcross. The Juniors Program was presented with a state resolution from the House of Representatives, House Resolution 212.Although Almon has a passion for running, teaching and coaching, he also has a number of hobbies he enjoys, such as gardening, being in nature, playing chess, reading, music, etc.
