By Brooke Loyed, Principal
They say lightning never strikes the same place twice but at Patronis Elementary we’ve had it strike three times this year so to speak. Patronis has three employees in the Top 5 of all categories in our Bay District Excellence in Education Recognition. Not only that, but two are overall winners in two of the categories—these shining stars will go on to represent all of Bay County at the State Level this spring and summer.
First, Erica Jones is our Patronis Rookie Teacher of the Year. Erica began as a paraprofessional in our ESE classroom where she worked with students in one-on-one situations and with the whole class. She has such a heart for education and decided that she wanted to be a teacher here also. Bonus – she brought her own children here to attend school with Dolly being a few years out from Kindergarten. She is no stranger to her students’ outside activities either—whether it be Special Athletes Field Day, Buddy Walks, or cheering on her current students at events. These wonderful students that she advocated for have gone on to high school and are flourishing. She currently teaches second grade for Patronis and is an irreplaceable part of her team. She has taught for three years and has been our Rookie Teacher of the Year for two years due to her enthusiasm and spirit.
Patronis and Bay District is represented by Theresa Ashley this year at the state level for Support Employee of the Year. She does so many considerate things without wanting any recognition. Her own children attended Patronis Elementary so she started out as a supportive Momma. She was a para in our PE department for four years where she quickly became known as Coach Ashley. During this time, she was responsible for adapting games for students with physical challenges. As an instructional paraprofessional for our school, she works with small groups daily to increase their math fluency and fact knowledge. Our A+ status and learning gains are due in no small part to what she helps students with every day. She knows each student by first name and by need.
Kenny Kirkland is our Patronis and Bay District Teacher of the Year. Merriam-Webster defines the word “icon” as a person or thing widely admired, especially for having great influence or significance in a particular sphere. Mr. Kirkland is an elementary school music teacher icon. As our chorus director, Mr. Kirkland has led 40-plus students each year for the last 29 years to award-winning performances. In a day and age when many schools choose to sadly let music go, Mr. Kirkland has only worked to strengthen our program at Patronis. His in-class music lessons include all types of instruments — drums, boomwhackers, keyboards, xylophones and recorders. What a shining example of public education done right. Over 650 students per year for the last 29 years have had professional music lessons. That is close to 20,000 students!
These three employees are representing Patronis Elementary as a trifecta of what we value at Patronis — Tradition. Community. Excellence.
