This year six faculty members of Klein High stood out more than the rest and were honored with Staff Members of the Year after the faculty voted in February

Orchestra Director Creston Herron was awarded the title of Teacher of the Year. Paraprofessional Carolyn Roberts is the Paraprofessional of the Year. Sue Ortmann was given the title of Educational Assistant of the Year. Ruth Adkins-Villarreal is the Professional Support Staff of the Year. Substitute Lula Walker was given the title of Substitute of the Year.  Debbie Pennington is the Associate Principal of the Year.

Herron has been head director of the orchestra for two years, and has been teaching at Klein high for four years.

“I feel extremely honored and humbled to receive this award.” He said “There are so many fantastic teachers at Klein High that are equally deserving.  I am extremely fortunate to work with such talented dedicated colleagues. I was not expecting to receive this award because there are so many outstanding teachers at Klein High, that I had no idea that I would receive the award.”

Roberts is the secretary to Associate Principal Johnnie Hayes. Roberts arranges the substitutes for absent teachers, as well as the long term subs. She also does organizes the activities calendar and arranges the HVAC and lights for after school and weekend activities.

“I feel very honored that my colleagues nominated me for this award,” she said.

Ortmann is responsible for making copies for all of the teachers in the school. Ortmann said she was surprised when she found out she had won.

“I feel honored because there are a lot of people in the school and anyone of the staff could have received the award,” Ortmann said.

Adkins- Villarreal is an instructional technology specialist, so in her position she helps teachers and students with their tablets and much more. For teachers specifically, she helps them integrate technology into the curriculum. Adkins-Villarreal received a gift and said she plans on continuing what she does best.

“I received a nice bouquet of flowers and then my husband and I went out to dinner that night. Now, I’m going to continue to work hard so I can live up to the award I received,” Adkins-Villarreal said

Lula Walker is a substitute for Klein High. She has been teaching for a total of 45 years and said she loves working with kids.

“I do my job because it is a passion and it has been for 45 years,” Walker said.

As an Associate Principal,  Pennington is in charge of overseeing all instruction on campus. In addition to that, she is also in charge of making sure all administration are fulfilling their responsibilities. Pennington said she is very honored to receive this award.

“I’m very honored to be receiving this award, I have been at Klein high since 2004, and I have been an administrator since 2010. I believe all of our administrators are outstanding and that they are also very deserving of this award,” she said.

Chase Brown