Katy Thomason named Teacher of the Year

Liberty Elementary school teacher, Katy Thomason is the Ponca City Public Schools’ 2018 District Teacher of the Year.  The announcement was made at the annual Teacher of the Year Banquet held Tuesday night.

Shelley Arrott, Executive Director of Human Resources/TLE, recognized previous Teacher of the Year candidates and introduced this year’s nominees. As each candidate was introduced, student comments specifically written for them were read. According to attendees, these student comments are always one of the highlights of the banquet.

Each candidate was presented a bronze statue of a student holding up a star, along with a certificate from the district and $500 in Chamber Bucks from the Ponca City Public School Foundation.

Pennington and Arrott presented Thomason a golden apple and a large gift bag of gifts from local businesses and individuals. Patsy Williams presented a $500 check from the Ponca City School Foundation, Inc., and Dr. Daniel Fenn from the Newkirk Dental Center also presented her a $500 check.

Pennington read a special Proclamation from the State of Oklahoma written by Senator Eddie Fields and State Rep. Steve Vaughan. Other donors included A+ Printing, KLVV and many other local businesses.

Pennington made the closing remarks, thanking everyone for coming and emphasizing how thankful he is for Ponca City teachers.

“Teaching today is harder than ever, with all the demands from the state and federal government. Even though Oklahoma teachers are working with higher class sizes and lower salaries, our teachers are still doing what is best for children,” Pennington said.

“Our teachers make a difference in their students’ lives every day. We have to do more to treasure our teachers, and now is the time. If we truly treasure teachers, we will contact our elected officials and encourage them to find solutions to the teacher shortage and issues facing education. Nothing will change until everyone is committed to this effort.”