District's classified employees deserve praise

(Published Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007 in Examiner-Enterprise)

Typically, when one thinks of an employee of a given school district, the first position that springs to mind is that of a teacher.

And though we within the Bartlesville Public School District take a great deal of pride in each and every teacher who works for us, there are plenty of other people who put forth a tremendous effort toward the betterment of our students.

The upcoming five-day span – from Monday through Friday – will mark “Classified Employee Week” within the district. This is a time when we have an opportunity to salute some special people in the field of education who don't happen to toil in a classroom.

Of course, in order to honor a classified employee, you must first know who they are. Within the Bartlesville Public School District, we have both certified and classified employees. All certified employees are educators as they've received their teaching certification. Principals and administrators are in certified positions.

Take the time to consider the other important employees of a school district though, such as cafeteria workers, secretaries, bus drivers and members of the custodial staff – all of whom are classified. Other support positions fall under the classified umbrella as well, such as those in the areas of finances, health and communications. The school nurse who may have just bandaged a youngster's scraped knee is a classified employee.

Classified employees don't always find themselves in the limelight in regards to education. We try to focus most of the attention on our students, which is as it should be. However, when most people present accolades to our staff members, it's typically the teachers who are recognized. Of course, our teachers certainly earn their recognition. But our classified employees have certainly distinguished themselves in tremendous ways as well, and they deserve to be applauded. Cafeteria staff members Dianna Turner, Terri Lewis-Hye, Carolyn Harris, Ruby Jansen and Linda Bradford earned the 2007 Sodexho Culinary Contest “Best Presentation of Entrée” Award.

On an everyday basis, members of our school-aged care department work with youngsters before and after school to ensure they have the proper supervision while developing a solid foundation for learning. Members of our transportation department safely deliver students to and from school and make certain our vehicles are in tip-top shape. Our secretaries, clerical workers and financial employees ensure we have all of the correct paperwork in place in order to transact business in the best way possible for the district.

Our maintenance and custodial staff members go out of their way to make certain our instructional and activity facilities are always looking their best and functioning at the most optimal levels. The computer technicians are vital in today's high-tech world while the teacher assistants aid our students and educators in a myriad of ways.

The food service employees have been readily commended for the high quality cuisine they present to our students while the members of the nursing staff look after the physical well-being of each and every youngster.

Our classified staff members are indeed a group of people pulling together to make the Bartlesville Public School District the best it can be.

Every spring, the district holds its Classified Person of the Year reception. The 17 th annual event was held in April, at the Bartlesville Community Center , and Bradford, who serves in the child nutrition department at Madison Middle School , collected the top honor. The other finalists – from six different areas of expertise – included Teresa Dietz, Ranch Heights Elementary School, school-aged care; Lisa Johnson, Madison, administrative assistant; Janice Kinkaid, Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, school assistant; Carol Monday, Madison, custodial/maintenance; Merry Rodriguez, transportation department; and Becky Yankovich, Richard Kane Elementary School; media/technology/health services.

Once the 18 th annual Classified Person of the Year reception rolls around in the spring of 2008, we'll get to tip our collective hats to another fine group of district employees. But thanks to the special week which lies just ahead of us, we won't have to wait months before we get a good reason to recognize them.