Ponca City Public Schools announce more administrative changes
Beverly Bryant - July 24, 2019 1:45 pm
Lori Cox has been named the new principal for Liberty Elementary School, pending final Board of Education approval. She has been serving as principal at Garfield Elementary since coming to Ponca City in 2013.
Cox received her Bachelor of Science at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. She earned her Master in Educational Administration at the University of Central Oklahoma.
“The 2019-2020 school year will mark my 28th year in education,” said Cox. “During that time I have served in three districts. I taught first grade for 17 years, kindergarten for one year, and served as an assistant principal for one year for the Guthrie Public School District. From there I moved to Skiatook, Oklahoma, where I served as their lower elementary principal for two years before accepting the position as principal at Garfield Elementary for PCPS.
“I have served at Garfield for six years and have enjoyed every minute of working with the staff, students, and parents. Beginning the current school year, I will be moving to Liberty Elementary to serve as their new principal. I look forward to building new relationships and working with the staff, students, and parents of the Liberty Elementary community to continue to build upon the wonderful programs and learning initiates that are already in place.”
Katy Thomason will be replacing Lori Cox as the principal at Garfield Elementary, pending final Board of Education approval. Thomason has been teaching for PCPS for several years and was the 2017 District Teacher of the Year.
Thomason received her Bachelor Degree in Elementary Education from NWOSU in 2012 and her Master Degree in Educational Leadership from NWOSU in 2013. She taught 6th-8th grade math and reading at Enid Middle School before moving to teach 3rd grade in Enid.
Thomason said, “I knew I wanted to pursue an elementary principal job one day. My husband and I made the move to my hometown of Ponca City, and I was hired to teach two years in 5th grade at Liberty Elementary where I was named District Teacher of the Year for team PCPS. From there, I was able to work for Garfield Elementary as their Instructional Coach for two years.”
Thomason continued, “I’m very blessed and excited to be a part of such an amazing team at Garfield that includes great teachers, support personnel, parents, and community members. I was honored to work with Mrs. Cox at Garfield for the past two years as Instructional Coach, and it has helped me see how passionate the teachers are at Garfield. I’m thrilled to be working alongside them and supporting them as the principal. I am looking forward to the coming year.”
