Enid Public Schools announced their 2023-24 Support Professionals of the Year.
The finalists, nominated by their colleagues, are Penny Flynn, Olivia Hammontree and Penny Shepard.
Penny Flynn is a secretary at Enid High School and is integral to how the school runs every day. Flynn started as a custodian at Taft Elementary in 1988 and has been at Enid High for the last 10 years as a secretary. District Accountability Specialist, Kayla Waldrop, nominated Flynn, saying, “Penny is so good at juggling 100 things at once. She’s usually the first to arrive and the last to leave. She does so much that goes unnoticed.”
Olivia Hammontree has been with district since 2014 and makes a difference inside and outside the classroom being a paraprofessional as well as crossing guard for Waller Middle School. She is supportive of Waller students and teachers, helping in any way she can. Colleague Deborah Milacek says, “All the staff at Waller recognizes Olivia as a partner in education and often say that their lives are made easier by having Olivia in the classroom with them.”
The last finalist is Penny Shepard at Monroe Elementary. Shepard is a paraprofessional for Monroe Lions and works hard to provide support to individual students in need. She has been with the district for 39 years serving in different roles and loves her job and helping students and staff! Monroe principal, Dr. Amara Detrick, spoke about how Shepard takes pride in her work and wants to be a part of providing the best education to EPS students. “She has made a difference in literally generations of Enid students at this point! Penny is flexible-willing to do whatever is necessary for Monroe. She builds relationships with students,” said Detrick.
EPS invites the public to attend the EPS Foundation Education Celebration to celebrate the building-level Teachers of the Year as well as announce the final Support Professional of the Year and Rookie of the Year winners. The event will be held on December 13 from 5-6 p.m. at the Enid High School gymnasium and will be broadcast live on YouTube and Channel 19 by EPS*tv.