LaRue County Schools support staff go the extra mile during the pandemic

Each year, the Kentucky Association of School Administrators (KASA) awards its prestigious Fred Award to one individual of many deserving nominees from school districts across the state. The Fred Award is inspired by well-known author Mark Sanborn; the award is named in honor of Fred Shea, the subject of Sanborn's national bestseller, The Fred Factor. 

For the past two years, LaRue County Schools has participated in this process, submitting the name of one district winner from all the classified (support) staff representing each of our schools and departments. The overall winner demonstrates a trademark spirit of service, innovation, and commitment to others in a way that positively impacts the lives of those in our school community. You may recall, the late Melvin Bell, former Hodgenville Elementary School custodian, was last year’s KASA Fred Award Winner.

There are 169 people working behind the scenes each day to ensure our district operates at an optimal level while still meeting our students’ various needs. Teachers and administrators could not do their jobs successfully without the support from our classified staff. These folks represent attendance clerks, office clerks, school administration managers (SAM), Family Youth Resource Youth Service Center (FRYSC) coordinators, food service workers, custodians, instructional assistants, school bus drivers, school bus monitors, technology workers, buildings & grounds Maintenance, transportation maintenance, school nurses, and central office staff.

Under normal circumstances, due to all the deserving support staff we have to choose from, it is difficult to select just one winner. During a year where we’ve had to navigate a pandemic, the selection process became even more challenging. The pandemic brought out the best in these employees. During NTI days, while teachers and students worked virtually, many support staff continued to show up to work in person, performing various duties not typically included in their daily roles and responsibilities. Never complaining, they were always willing to do whatever was needed in our schools and students’ best interest.

It is impossible to recognize all the accomplishments demonstrated by all these fine people. Some are visible to the public, while others have gone unnoticed. For instance, some may have seen the new lighted hawk head emblem on the LCHS gym’s exterior. This was designed, built, and assembled by members of our transportation and maintenance departments. Or maybe you have heard about the 416,255 meals provided to students and families by our food services department since the pandemic began in March 2020. There are countless other tasks they have performed the of which the general public is unaware. Like helping to keep our schools and buses clean and sanitized for a safe return to in-person learning. Or building racks, growth trays, and a watering filtration system for the aquaponics program in our new greenhouse. 

How do we possibly select just one person to be honored as our district’s Fred Award Winner when so many people continue to go above and beyond the call of duty each day in their respective roles? The answer is simple; we don’t. Instead, we have decided to recognize the entire LaRue County Schools Support Staff as this year’s Fred Award Winner.

Our decision to select multiple candidates for submission to KASA will prohibit LaRue County Schools from being eligible for the state-wide Fred Award this year. However, we feel we owe it to our entire support staff to be publicly commended for their dedication to our students, schools, and community. Throughout the week, we will acknowledge our appreciation publicly to this group of employees for their quality work and positive attitude during a difficult time. 

Please join me in congratulating the Support Staff for being named the 2021 LaRue County Schools Fred Award Winner. If you know any of the wonderful people or happen to see them out in public, please thank them for the work they do and the positive impact they have on our community. We could not do it without them.

It’s a great day to be a Hawk!