Copperas Cove ISD honors 35 Employees of the Year at banquet

At a banquet sponsored by H-E-B Plus! of Copperas Cove, Copperas Cove ISD recognized 35 Employees of the Year nominees, putting a spotlight on the people who keep more than 7,600 students moving through classrooms, cafeterias, buses and offices every day.

The district said each of its 11 campuses nominated a paraprofessional, a rookie teacher and a teacher of the year, while auxiliary departments also named their own employee of the year. That structure stretched the recognition well beyond instruction, honoring the staff members who handle nutrition, custodial work, maintenance, health services, technology, transportation and warehouse support.

Among the names parents across Copperas Cove are likely to recognize was Adam Vasquez of Custodial Services, who was named CCISD Auxiliary Employee of the Year. Custodial supervisor Roberto Ramos said Vasquez helps coordinate setups for standardized testing and school events, work that often happens long before students arrive and long after the final bell. Ramos also said Vasquez helped keep a space ready for First Baptist Church after a fire forced the congregation to meet on campus during repairs, a reminder that school employees in Copperas Cove are often part of the wider community response when families need help.

The auxiliary honorees also included Brittany Fraser in Child Nutrition, Gabriel Lopez in Maintenance, Ella Doubleday in Health Services, Daniela Pitts in Technology, John Davila in Transportation and Yolanda Pitts in Warehouse. On the campus side, paraprofessional winners included Jeannelly Moreno, Kyle Ward, Carolyn Williams, Maureen Ames, Jessica Hernandez-Negron, Mia Galit, Jaelyn Villagomez, Regina Lerue, Grace Tarin, Cortney Homan and Terry Wyland, reflecting how many hands it takes to keep daily school life steady across the district.

Jennifer Cotter of H-E-B Plus! said the educators and staff members handle daily challenges with patience and grace and show up for students, school events, fundraisers and the broader community. The recognition also came with a broader sense of continuity for CCISD, which said its 2024-25 Employees of the Year program included 38 nominees and described enrollment then as almost 8,000 students. This year’s banquet showed that even with a slightly smaller nominee pool, the district is still relying on the same wide network of employees whose work reaches far beyond the classroom door.