Owsley County Elementary staff end year with Secret Pal reveal

Haley Sandlin and Cathy Mayes were recognized with the Above and Beyond Award as Owsley County Schools closed out the year with a staff appreciation meal, and Owsley County Elementary School followed that with a Secret Pal reveal that put staff culture front and center in Booneville.

The elementary school said the reveal was about more than a lighthearted finish to the year. Staff members had spent the school year quietly encouraging one another, then gathered for the reveal celebration that showed who had been behind the small acts of support. In a small rural district where employees often cover more than one role, that kind of connection can matter in the daily work of keeping classrooms calm, organized and ready for students.

Owsley County Elementary framed the celebration as part of building a positive staff culture and a supportive environment for both adults and children. That message fits the school’s broader approach. The building has said it is implementing the Leader in Me model, a whole-school process focused on student leadership, life skills and empowerment, and it has also used school-channel posts to highlight kindness, emotional intelligence and relationship-building with younger students. Earlier programming included a kindness and emotional-intelligence assembly for students in kindergarten through third grade.

The district’s end-of-year recognition efforts did not stop there. Owsley County Schools also publicly thanked teachers and support staff during Teacher Appreciation Week, and a recent staff-support message thanked SRO Hudson, County Clerk Austin Bowling, Cassie Morgan and County Judge Little for sponsoring support for OCES staff. Those gestures came as the district continued advertising for substitutes for the 2025-2026 school year, underscoring the practical value of morale, trust and retention in a small school system.

Owsley County Schools describes Owsley County as a mountain county in Eastern Kentucky, nestled in the Daniel Boone National Forest. In that setting, where school staff often become familiar faces across classrooms, cafeterias and hallways, the Secret Pal tradition served as a quiet reminder that internal relationships can shape the experience children and parents see every day, long after the final bell of the year has sounded.