If it weren’t for paraprofessionals like Ila Elementary’s Willie Lou Stoyle, that heap of paperwork on a teacher’s desk might be a lot more daunting.
“She does the busy work for the teachers so the teachers can have more time with planning and the actual instruction,” Ila principal Lynne Jeffers said.
Stoyle, the Madison County School System’s support employee of the year, is a fourth and fifth grade paraprofessional at Ila where she serves six classrooms.
“I just do whatever is needed,” Stoyle said.
Among other things, Stoyle’s daily routine includes making copies, filing papers, laminating papers or covering a classroom for a teacher.
“We were all very excited and proud for her,” Jeffers said of Stoyle’s honor. “She deserved it.”
Stoyle isn’t from Madison County, “but it seems like I’ve been here forever,” she said.
Stoyle grew up in Banks County and attended school there before later marrying a Madison County native, Jerry Stoyle.
The two have been wed for 38 years and lived in the county together for that entire span.
The Stoyles have two children, Jessica and Eddie. Jessica is a nurse and Eddie is a respiratory therapist. Stoyle also has two grandsons.
Ila Elementary has been counting on Stoyle’s services for 20 years now. She worked with special needs students for 17 years before moving to fourth and fifth grade.
Winning the county-wide support employee award this year was something Stoyle took in stride.
“I didn’t even think about the county-wide thing … There are a lot of people as worthy as I am to win it,” she said. “I just appreciate people voting for me.”
And so are Stoyle’s co-workers, who are thrilled that she’s known as the county’s best.
“She’s a great, great woman,” Jeffers said. “She does anything and everything she can for kids.”
