Fulton County School System’s top employees will be honored Friday, Nov. 2, at the district’s annual recognition luncheon, including James Stewart, a school technology specialist at Esther Jackson Elementary School.

More than 900 employees, business partners and special guests will gather to pay tribute to each school’s and administrative building’s employees of the year during the luncheon. The celebration also is a time when schools formally honor the partnerships that have made outstanding contributions to student achievement. Stewart will be honored as the Overall School Professional of the Year.

Pamela Haight, a fifth-grade teacher at Alpharetta Elementary School, is Fulton’s 2012-2013 Overall Teacher of the Year. First named the system’s Elementary School Teacher of the Year, she was then selected as the district winner from among two other Fulton County finalists: Barbara Bell from Ridgeview Charter School, who is the system’s Middle School Teacher of the Year, and Kimberly Cooney from Chattahoochee High School, who is the High School Teacher of the Year.

Dan Sims, principal of Tri-Cities High School, will be recognized as the district’s first-ever Principal of the Year and Melissa Arnold, a bus driver with the Transportation Department, will be honored as the Overall Support Professional of the Year.

The luncheon is sponsored by the Fulton Education Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides financial and in-kind support to the Fulton County School System. The Foundation’s Board of Directors include business and community volunteers who are committed to developing new resources, building collaborative relationships, and strengthening the link between business, community and schools.