Groves selected as one of 24 teachers for Valvoline award

Groves is approaching his 14th year teaching at OCHS. In 2021, he was named Social Studies Teacher of the Year through the Kentucky Council of the Social Studies.

He said he is lucky at OCHS to have an awesome staff and supportive administration, as well as his wife, who is also a teacher who acts as his sounding board and is his “ultimate supporter.”

“I am very student-focused, and relationships are the first thing I build with students,” he said. “Good relationships built with them is what enables high expectations.”

With his psychology students, which includes AP Psychology, Groves said he tries to relate the topics to everyday life.

“The psych kids joke about ‘When will I ever use this?’ and my answer is when will they ever not use it,” Groves said. “You see it everywhere you look in decisions and debates. You’re constantly seeing psychology and history happening. Humans are going to be human.”

Groves’ inspiration in becoming a teacher was his high school band director at North Hardin High School, Charles “Chuck” Campbell.

“Mr. Campbell was an amazing teacher, and I always thought I would love to do that someday,” he said. “I thought I’d be a teacher or guidance counselor, but I felt passionate about history.”

The psychology courses were added at OCHS in the last four years because of Groves.

“I fell in love with it in college, and I’m fortunate to use it again in the classroom,” Groves said. “There’s just something about seeing history and how things interconnect and trying to show that to the kids. World history isn’t just a date on the page. You see patterns and how those patterns can repeat.”

In his classroom, Groves said he doesn’t focus on the dates that major historical events have happened, but rather shows the students why things happen and understanding the patterns leading up to them.

“There is no repetition school years,” he said. “The students all bring different pieces of the puzzle. One thing I love to do in the classroom is have big discussions. I’m big on questioning them and discussing, allowing gears to turn so there are connections made rather than encouraging memorization.”

Groves said no year is the same in the classroom.

“When we were virtual because of the pandemic, I was doing daily check-ins with them on Google classrooms,” he said. “Teaching psychology, mental health is important to me. The last two school years brought change and frustration but also genuineness to the students and teachers who were experiencing the same thing. We bonded through adversity.”

Alex Embry, principal at OCHS, said Groves wears a lot of different hats within the school.

“He started the psychology program back up and has grown it so much so that he has three periods of intro psych and three periods of AP psych,” Embry said. “He is also a PA announcer for volleyball and football games, as well as the go-to tech person. He does whatever is needed.”

Embry said Groves’ relationships with the students is evident in the growth of the psychology program.

“He is one of those guys who is always willing to do whatever is needed for the school,” he said. “He takes time to build relationships with the students.

“He is very deserving, and we are very proud of him. He goes the extra mile.”