Every morning, Pascack Hills Aide Ellen Doyle smiles as she greets the bus driver and helps her student, senior Catie Sulzer, off the handicap bus lift. During the day, she can often be seen in the halls with Sulzer or sharing laughs with other students.

On April 21, Doyle was recognized for being named the school’s Support Staff Member of the Year. She didn’t hear the school-wide announcement, but was congratulated by students and staff outside of the school after the final bell. 

“When they announced it to the school, I was outside doing bus duty and didn’t hear it…I was very honored because there are so many other support staff that are just as deserving,” she said. 

While Doyle has been at Hills for four years, she has worked in the district for eleven. Before coming to the school, she worked out of the district in Ridgefield for five years and worked in the district’s Milestones program for two years. 

The Support Staff Member of the Year described how she felt when she found out by district administrators that she received this honor. Principal Tim Wieland, Assistant Principals Christine Pollinger and Derek Piccini, and Superintendent Sarah Bilotti gave her flowers and cookies to congratulate her. 

“I was completely shocked, shaking, and had teared up as they spoke to me. The class was cheering and I was speechless,” she said.

The class that she was in at the time was with English Teacher Jordan Saxon. She shared the dessert with them to celebrate and took pictures with administrators and Sulzer. 

“I wanted [her] in the picture with me because I love working with her and she has made me a better aide. We compliment each other and I will miss her when she graduates this year,” she said.

Pollinger said that several people nominated Doyle for this honor. 

“A lot of people said that she was a very positive and personable individual. So, she’s friendly, she says hello to everybody, she’s always got a smile on her face even if she’s not having a good day, she keeps a good sense of humor, and she takes really good care of Catie,” she said. 

She also talked about Doyle going “above and beyond” as an aide. Although she helps with bus duty after the final bell, Pollinger said that she isn’t required to. 

“She doesn’t really have to take care of the buses at the end of the school day, but she often helps…making sure all the students get on the bus like they’re supposed to,” she said. 

Doyle talked about her favorite part of the school and her goals as an aide: the community feeling, which she aspires to instill for the students. 

“Our school has a family environment where the staff and students feel welcomed, safe and form a friendship that lasts a lifetime. I want school to be a place where students can learn, grow, and not to be so serious all the time,” she said. 

Sulzer, who has worked with Doyle for all of her four years at Hills, said that she “will miss her and her energy.”

“I love working with her,” she said. Doyle echoed this statement and said that Sulzer “has made [her] a better aide.” 

Whether it be following Sulzer class to class or talking to other students while waiting for the buses, Doyle’s work was recognized among students and staff upon receiving Support Staff Member of the Year.

“If I can listen, assist if needed, [and] make a student smile and laugh, then I feel I did my job,”  she said.