Barbara Prior, Student Information Systems Operator at Kedron Elementary, and her community lift each other up.
As a Student Information Systems Operator (SISO), Prior does a little bit of everything, including registering students, setting schedules, printing report cards, and updating contact information.
“I do all the background stuff that makes things work,” Prior said.
She always thought she would work in the corporate world, but volunteering at her daughter’s elementary school many years back showed her she could combine her business sense with her love of working with children.
“I do like the challenge of my job, you know, trying to figure out puzzles (like scheduling classes),” she said. “I like seeing the little ones. I like walking them down the hall, and I like going into the noisy cafeteria,”
She takes extra joy in being a welcoming committee for new families. She sends incoming Knights key information like how to sign up to ride the bus and get a lunch account. Prior also takes families on a tour of the school before first day so they are ready to go.
As she fights a serious fight, she has been welcomed into the Kedron community. Prior is currently battling breast cancer and colorectal cancer.
Now in her fourth year at the school, Prior had been at the school less than 2 years when she was first diagnosed. Even though she felt like a new Knight, she felt the love of so many. Whether it was gifts like baskets, blankets, and gift cards or words of support and advice from similar experiences they or someone they knew faced, her colleagues made her feel truly welcome.
“I realized that I was a part of this Kedron community that I didn’t know about,” she said. “I was so grateful that these people in my community here were so giving and wonderful. It really touched my heart.”
She has continued working through treatment and is pouring herself into helping the families she serves.
“I’ve kept up the philosophy that the treatment, whatever it is, is going to work,” she said. “I call it ‘no other option.’ It’s going to work.”
Prior is focused on living life to the fullest, like attending sporting events she’s been putting off and flying to enjoy a snowy Christmas in New York with her grandchildren.
“I’ve realized the cancer doesn’t run me, I run my life knowing that I have cancer,” she said. “I’m going to make life as fun as I can.”
“The Honor Role,” an official podcast for Fayette County Public Schools, features employees, rotating through key stakeholders, including teachers, staff, nurses, custodians, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers. Join us as we dive in and learn about their journeys, their inspirations, and their whys.
Episodes are available on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and promoted on the social media channels of Fayette County Public Schools.
Episodes will also be available here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2200811.
Posted 10/22/2024
