Kathy Fredericks: Nurturing, Kind, Efficient — And Deserving of County School Award

Kathy Fredericks, office manager, does a lot more than answer phone calls and keep track of attendance records.

The Oakland Township resident is constantly checking up on the well-being of the students, so much so that aside from fixing ‘boo boos’ she can commonly be found purchasing bagels for students who don’t have the money for the treat. One time she even removed the slippers from her own feet to benefit a student who didn’t have any for a special themed day at the school, said John Blackstock, Stadium Drive Elementary principal.

Her kind, generous personality is one of the many reasons that she was not only the district’s winner, but also the co-winner of Oakland County's Betty Campion Distinguished Support Service Award this year. Karl Brinson, a building engineer for Waterford School District, was the other Oakland County recipient.

The Betty Campion Award is an annual award that is given to exceptionally dedicated and skilled support service staff members. Criteria includes such things as they go above and beyond, have at least five years of experience and play an active role in the community. Staff members throughout Oakland Schools can nominate deserving colleagues annually for the honor.

"Kathy's as good as they come," Blackstock said.

“She’s just awesome – so helpful, generous, kind… any word you can think of, she’s just over and above,” said Sue Lindamood, clerical assistant at Stadium Drive Elementary who has worked with Fredericks for nine years.

Lindamood said she knows so much about the district she could have easily been superintendent.

Honored twice for her compassion, dedication

Fredericks was recognized for her accomplishment at a Lake Orion School Board meeting last week. Ryan Bladzik, executive director of the Oakland Schools Education Foundation, attended the recognition ceremony to present the award. The ceremony also , teachers of the year, transportation staff and more.

This is the second time that Fredericks has won the distinguished award. The first time she won was in 1998. Now, 14 years later, she is incredibly pleased to receive the honor once again. Both times she has been surprised by the accolades. This year she even said she had no idea she was even nominated.

“I was just thrilled when I found out I won,” Fredericks said. “It really does make me feel great.”

A couple of excerpts from the nomination packet read:

"She is the first impression visitors have of our school. They immediately see us as kind, efficient, knowledgeable and willing to do whatever needs to be done, all because she radiates that with their first encounter," Stadium Drive Elementary teacher Kristina Lavin wrote.

"She is nurturing the child that is having a rough day. She is filling out forms that may have been forgotten. She is taking time to make our lives, as students and parents, much easier," said Jill Potter, Stadium Drive parent.

She has been working for since 1978, when she first received a job as a playground attendant at Stadium Drive Elementary. She became active in the school in 1975 as a parent volunteer. Soon after she became para-educator. Then in 1994 she started working as office manager at Stadium Drive Elementary. Fredericks noted that though she has worked at other schools within the district, the majority of the time she has put in has been at Stadium Drive Elementary.

“This is the best place there is to work,” she said. “I come from a real close knit family and that’s the way it is here. Here everybody helps everybody … it’s a real nice group of people.”

When she isn't spending time with her Stadium Drive 'family', she is trying to spend as much time as possible with her son, daughter, grandchildren and husband. She also enjoys camping, quilting and gardening.

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