Pam Scott spent 20 years as an educator in Cy-Fair ISD, the district she said her heart belongs to, before starting the Partners in Education department in the mid-'90s.

"I've always felt like I am privileged to live and work in the best community and the best school district anywhere," she said. "When you're proud of where you work and live, you also want to do your due diligence to take care of that [place]. I think everyone else in Cy-Fair feels that same pride."

Scott was teaching at Hamilton Middle School when former superintendent Richard Berry asked her to develop the Partners in Education department to oversee district volunteer programs and work with the local community.

"It was a real privilege for me," Scott said. "I never understood what a giving, gracious and caring community we live in, and I've lived in Cy-Fair for 40 years."

When Scott began the groundwork for Partners in Education, she said the hardest part was letting others know she did not have a specific motive, but the intent to do good things for the students and the community.

"In the beginning, I needed to make sure I was communicating the right message," Scott said. "No one wants to see boarded up windows in businesses, no one wants to see rundown subdivisions, no one wants to feel like children are in unsafe conditions. As long as we are always working together, it will make us a safer place and give us a stronger environment and a better place to live and work."

As the director of Partners in Education, Scott reaches out to businesses and nonprofits to let them know about the ways in which they can work with the district to benefit the students, staff and community.

"I have the best job in the whole district," she said. "I love what I do."

In addition, Scott has overseen several programs under the Partners in Education umbrella, such as Bus Buddies, a mentor program, Volunteers in Public Schools and a program in which faith-based organizations and businesses select a school to adopt.

"I started doing [adoptions] six years ago, and now we have 40 schools that have been adopted," Scott said. "It's a work in progress, but I want every school in this district to be adopted."

Scott makes the best fit for the Partners in Education department because of her ability to make others excited about what occurs in the schools, said Sarah Silverman, chairman for Volunteers in Public Schools.

"Sometimes people might be hesitant to volunteer, but after hearing her talking about what's going on with the district, they always leave so excited to jump on board and get started volunteering," she said.

Scott also serves as the district's community liaison, a position in which she builds relationships with Cy-Fair residents and business owners.

"I would hope that I would never just meet someone and proceed to just talk business," she said. "That's never what I'm about. I really want to get to know people and learn who they are; I want them to know who I am and start to build those relationships."