The Pampa Independent School District has two contested seats in the upcoming May 1 election.
One of them is filling the seat of the retiring Cay Warner, between Janet Hancock and Misty LeBlanc.
Janet Hancock has 20 years of experience at Pampa ISD, where she was a teacher and administrator.
“I love education,” Hancock said. “I love learning. I think all of us should be life-long learners. I made awesome friends when I worked at Pampa ISD. I had been in education so long, that now some of my students from when I taught math at Pampa High School, I see them out and about.”
Hancock added she feels that it’s important to know the business aspect of education and her experience as an administrator helps with that.
Hancock was a math teacher for nine years at Pampa High School, an assistant principal for four years, a principal at Pampa Junior High for three years and then worked in the administration building for one year and ended her career as a principal at Travis Elementary.
Her first year in education she was an aide at Pampa Learning Center.
“That was a great way to start,” Hancock said. “It’s one-on-one with the kids and some of them are the most at-risk for various reasons and got to know them on a more personal level.”
Having served at so many different levels in the school district, Hancock feels well-versed in a variety of fields, including finding the gaps between students.
“For most of my career I worked at the secondary level and knew the learning gaps,” Hancock said. “One of my jobs at the high school as an assistant principal was to be responsible for intervention teams. Their role was to see where we could help the students who hit the speed-bumps.
“When I was principal at Travis Elementary, I saw at the very beginning of the school year the screening the kindergarten children received, because they don’t have any records at that point. You would not believe the gap some of the kids have versus the ones who are prepared. Knowing and watching all of the levels of learning at all grade levels from the inside was pretty amazing.”
Hancock loves the sense of community she sees at Pampa ISD. Especially when Pampa graduates come back to work for Pampa ISD.
“They know our culture, climate and have a true sense of belonging,” Hancock said. “They knew what we were about. (Pampa ISD superintendent) Dr. Tanya Larkin has done a great job of hiring the very best available and building a team that’s very knowledgeable.”
The biggest issue Hancock sees at the school district is the education students missed during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have handled the situation great, there are some schools that are still not open,” Hancock said. “Pampa ISD did what they needed to do to protect the staff and students. They monitored and made adjustments, and our teachers had a tough job with the virtual learning. Our parents have worked hard, too, trying to teach the kids.
But I think there is a little battle fatigue, but the District is already looking at the data and looking at the missed learning opportunities.”
Hancock has lived in Pampa for 28 years and was married to her late husband, Lynn, for 45 years. Lynn was the long-time preacher at Briarwood Church, where Janet works part-time. The pair have three children and seven grandchildren.
For more information, Janet has a Facebook page for her campaign at “Janet Hancock for PISD School Place 7.”
Hancock emphasized for everyone to get out and vote.
Early voting in this election begins on April 19 through April 27 and will be held at the Pampa ISD administration building. Hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on April 26-27 when voting will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
