Natalie McCutchen has the best of both worlds: Not only does she love her career as a teacher, but she’s happy with her employer. After all, it’s one of the best places to work in the state.

Simpson County Schools was recently named one of the best places to work in Kentucky by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management.

It’s the second consecutive year the school system has won the recognition, and it’s the only school district in the state to be included in the list of 65 companies. In fact, school districts rarely snag the honor, said Shannon Byrne, director of seminars and events for the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s the only one we’ve had that’s a school district,” she said, adding that one college, Somerset Community College, also was recognized. “But Simpson County is the only (K-12 district) that has made it.”

Employers must sign up for the award and then go through a rigorous application process. The chamber works with an outside company, Best Companies Group, which helps filter through applications and designate the winners. One of the biggest factors is an in-depth employee satisfaction survey, Byrne said.

A company cannot be deemed a good place to work if employees are not happy. McCutchen, a seventh-grade math teacher at Franklin-Simpson Middle School, pursued teaching to interact with children. But it’s also the interaction with other faculty members that makes her job enjoyable, she said.

“I love the school that I work at. I feel very close to the faculty; we work well together,” she said. “We help each other out … it’s a real community feeling.”

It’s an atmosphere that administrators have worked to create over the years. It’s important to snag strong teachers, and it’s essential that they stay, Superintendent Jim Flynn said.

“In terms of the people we hire to work with and around our students, one thing we work really hard at in Simpson County is that,” he said. “We recruit and select and hire the very best and, when we get them hired, we want to keep them if they’re a match.”

Simpson County employs about 450 people, including 180 teachers and 215 staff members. About 3,000 students attend five schools and one alternative school.

Even in the face of budget cuts and unfunded state mandates, school officials work to provide teachers with quality training, social opportunities and other activities inside and outside the classroom, Flynn said.

For example, officials offer jazzercise classes and other exercise courses for faculty members at the schools. They have facultywide competitions, such as a weight loss challenge, and they participate in community events, such as an upcoming 5K event.

“Those are just examples of things we do to try to jazz up that environment rather than coming here to work and collect a paycheck,” Flynn said.

And, while administrators take No Child Left Behind ratings seriously, they concentrate less on test scores and more on forming relationships with children. Those relationships are more effective if teachers enjoy where they work and whom they work for, Flynn said.

“Happy, engaged teachers and staff members are naturally going to have more enduring, positive relationships with the kids that they teach,” he said. “So, that makes a big difference.”

And the statewide recognition is a boost for the school system. In addition to helping officials attract talented teachers, it heightens public awareness of the schools and improves the community’s image, said Milli McIntosh, human resources director for Simpson County Schools.

“I think sometimes we’re like a well-kept secret,” she said. “I think having that distinction allows us to attract more qualified applicants, provide a higher level of customer service to our community and to our kids, and that’s what it’s all about is taking care of the kids and making sure they’re getting the best.”