Jeannine Lejeune/Crowley Post-Signal
Schools have already chosen their Support Persons of the Year for the 2017-2018 school year and the Acadia Parish School Board was happy to recognize them Monday night.
“In this district, we are very privileged to have an entire village of people to educate our children” said Ellan Kay Baggett, executive director.
That village mentality means that support personnel is all the more the important to the school and education system in Acadia Parish.
“Mrs. Baggett alluded to it, ‘It takes a whole village to raise a child’,” Superintendent John Bourque would later say. “Our teachers are so overwhelmed from the state department and other things, the job that y’all do, going behind them, picking these kids up, it’s unbelievable.”
Before naming the district winners – one each at the elementary, middle school and high school levels – Baggett would announce and recognize all the Support Persons of the Year.
Then Baggett recognized the district winners, two of which were not present in Angela Vincent, Estherwood Elementary (elementary level), and Jeannette Runner, Rayne High (high school level). The other, Kim Abshire of Armstrong Middle School, received a glowing acknowledgement by Principal Marshall A. Thibodeaux.
“She goes beyond the call of duty,” he said as he listed the many duties and activities she does each day and each year. “That’s (just) who she is and (she) looks for nothing in return.”
Abshire, according to Thibodeaux, began her work in 1998. Thibodeaux has put her with five different teachers over the years to help with large classrooms. He has put her with the librarian to help the school implement its Accelerated Reader and Read 180 programs. And though she does not physically possess one, Thibodeaux says Abshire “performs as if she has one.”
“She’s always willing to go the extra mile to fill in for anyone that is not at their position, and for that, Mrs. Kim, I applaud you for being so flexible, being willing to go that extra mile to ensure that every child at Armstrong Middle School is provided the best education that we can provide for them.
Again, thanks for the job well done.”
“On behalf of the board, you have done an awesome job and we appreciate everything you do for our parish and our kids,” said School Board President James Higginbotham.