Several Marietta Public School’s staff members were honored at a luncheon held on Friday, May 26 in the school cafeteria.
Service pins were awarded to Scott Anderson, Adam Sherfield, Kristi Mansfield, Ryan Gibbs, Erin Hansen, Courtney Jackson, Karin Mathis, Angela Wall, and Carrie Tucker to honor five years of service to the district.
For ten years of service, Leo Rueda, Amber Boatright, Erin Banta, Celinda Garner, Josh Jones, Kassie Drain, Tonya Bucher, and Danielle Winchester were honored.
Kacie Bone, John Shumaker, Courteney Starsick, and Lantze Blevins, received 15-year pins, and Eric Gallaway was honored for 30 years of service to Marietta Public Schools.
Also honored at the luncheon were the district’s teachers of the year. Annually, teachers from each site within the district vote to select a teacher of the year, then the district’s teachers combine to choose one of those site representatives as the district’s teacher of the year.
Site teachers of the year include Bonnie Petersen, who teaches art to both primary and elementary students; Maverick McClendon, Elementary Special Education Teacher and district Special Education Director; Ryan Gibbs, middle school math teacher; and John Shumaker, high school math teacher. Each site representative received a commendation from the Oklahoma legislature, thanking them for their dedication to the students in the district.
Shumaker was chosen as the district’s teacher of the year. Shumaker, or “Shu”, as he’s widely known to students and staff in the high school, has been with the district for 15 years, having previously served for many years at Davis High School.
Throughout his tenure at Marietta, Shumaker has taught high school many different mathematics classes, coached football and track, and helped during basketball season by keeping the clock and/or books at hundreds of home games.
Shumaker has developed a reputation as a no-nonsense guy, but also one with a soft heart for kids. He’s known for his ability to make difficult concepts easy to understand, something that comes in handy when teaching higher-level math courses.
Facebook responses to Shumaker’s being honored as the teacher of the year were many and positive. A former student said, “Shu is the best!”, and one parent had this to say: “Coach Shu is one of my son’s favorite people. No one deserves this honor more.”
In addition to the teacher of the year honors, support staff selects the district’s support staff member of the year. This year, that honor was bestowed upon the Primary Secretary, Denise Balog. Balog acts as the surrogate mom to dozens of the district’s youngest students, all while keeping the wheels on the bus in the primary office, which is no small feat. She is appreciated by the building’s teachers and principal, and by the student’s parents.
“We enjoy taking this opportunity to say thank you to the people who keep our school district operating,” said Superintendent Brandi Naylor. “From members of the support staff to our teachers, these people have a hard job, and we want to honor their dedication to our district.”