Because of the balloons presented to her by the superintendent as part of the Rome City Schools 2013 Teacher of the Year award, the students Krisztina Kilpatrick was working with Thursday morning assumed it was her birthday and were excited to celebrate with her.

They weren’t as excited about the Teacher of the Year award, but Kilpatrick was so happy that the appropriate words escaped her, but she did tell her Main Elementary students they should be proud of her.

“It’s a very, very big honor,” she told them.

Kilpatrick told the adults in the room that she was surprised, excited and proud to represent the system.

Superintendent Gayland Cooper praised the special education teacher.

“Mrs. Kilpatrick exemplifies the talent and commitment of the teachers in Rome City Schools. She works tirelessly to encourage and inspire her students and she sees the capabilities and potential in all of her students,” he said. “We are very proud of Mrs. Kilpatrick and we appreciate her dedication and compassion for teaching.”

Cooper surprised Kilpatrick early Thursday morning before heading to Rome Middle School to tell Spanish teacher Cristina Baldwin she was selected as runner-up, followed by a trip to Elm Street Elementary to inform Anna Hobson-Sato she’d been picked as Support Employee of the Year.

Kilpatrick completed her bachelor’s degree at Jacksonville State University and her master’s degree at Auburn University.

She is currently working toward completion of her Specialist degree in Education Leadership. She lives in Rome with her husband Kevin, who is also a special education teacher in the Rome City Schools system, and their son, Lincoln.

Baldwin, the runner-up, taught English to non-English speaking students in Guadalajara, Mexico, before moving to Rome. She completed her bachelor’s degree at the Universidad de Guadalajara and her master’s degree from Regent University.

She resides in Rome with her husband, Joseph Bald­win, and their sons Eli and Caleb.

Hobson-Sato, the 2013 Support Employee of the Year, has been employed two years as a classroom paraprofessional at Elm Street. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado and a master’s degree in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University. Her previous work experience includes teaching English language learners in Japan.

Hobson-Sato lives in Rome with her husband and two sons, Gen and Kai, who attend Elm Street Elementary.

These educators, who were selected from the school-level winners by a committee of retired educators from outside the Rome area, will be honored at a banquet sponsored by Northwest Georgia Credit Union, Citizens First Bank of Rome, the Shaw Hankins Co. and the Coca-Cola Co. on Oct. 11 at Rome Middle School at 7 p.m.

The other school-level teachers of the year are: Laurie Jones, fifth grade, East Central Elementary; Jennifer Coleman, third grade, Elm Street Elementary; Susan O’Dell, fourth grade, North Heights Elementary; Tina Locklear, science, Rome High; Katie Chappell, fourth grade, Southeast Elementary; LaSaunda Mullinax, second grade, West Central Elementary; and Shannon Dudley-Kamp, fourth grade, West End Elementary.

The other school-level sup­port employees of the year are: Jo Shahan, secretary, Central Office; Erika Thom­as, cafeteria manager, East Central Elementary; Portia Wright, secretary, Main Elementary; Debra J. Hall, special education paraprofessional, North Heights Elementary; Marie Coffey, secretary, Rome High; Tammi Bramlett, media paraprofessional, Rome Middle; Wyatt Sharp, custodian, Southeast Elementary; Karen Colbert, secretary, West Central Elementary; and Debra A. Hall, special education paraprofessional, West End Elementary.