Cape’s Elliott honored as Support Professional of the Year

The Cape Henlopen School District named Pam Elliott its 2025-26 Educational Support Professional of the Year.

“I’m humbled to be honored in this way,” said Elliott, a paraprofessional and hall monitor at Cape Henlopen High School. “There are so many amazing [and] deserving support people in the district, so it took me by surprise.”

Elliott came to Cape five years ago after a 25-year career as a New Jersey state trooper and a couple years as a safety constable in the Indian River School District.

The transition from working in the police field to working in a school as a hall monitor was a natural segue, she said. Both are rooted in the same core notion, helping others.

“I try to be a bright light in the hallway, [even] on days when it’s a struggle,” she said. “I love what I do, so that makes it easy.”

Every day, she interacts with hundreds of students and staff members, all of whom are experiencing their own struggles and joys. She strives to meet them where they are and support their individual needs.

“I try and celebrate their small victories,” she said. “Maybe they pass a test they weren’t sure they were going to pass. Maybe they just got their first job and are excited about that. Maybe they were appointed to the first violin position in the band. Who knows what it is? But I try and find what it is that makes a student or staff member happy and focus on that.”

During the day, she can often be found in her Kindness Corner, an area in the upstairs hallway that she’s decked out with posters of positive quotes and uplifting messages. It’s a safe space for students to come and talk to her about their day or whatever’s on their mind.

"What makes our district so special are the people who show up every day with compassion, kindness, and a genuine love for our students, and Pam truly embodies all of those qualities,” said Cape Superintendent Dr. Jenny Nauman. “She goes above and beyond to make a difference, not for recognition, but because it’s simply who she is. Her Kindness Corner is one of a kind, and anyone who spends any time with her there can see the difference she is making in the lives of our students as they pass through the hall.”

For Elliott, it’s all about trying to make a positive impact on every student and staff member, every day.

It truly takes a village, and not a day goes by that she isn’t tapping into a resource, whether it’s another hall monitor, a teacher, an administrator or someone else.

“I love to do this, so it doesn’t feel like work to me,” she said. “I love the students, I love the staff, I love the administrators, and that sounds kind of hokey, but it’s the truth. I really enjoy my job every single day, even on the most difficult days.”