The Auburn School District Board of Directors will present the Gold Star Volunteer Award to Jim Krause, in recognition of his volunteer support to Auburn School District, at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14, in the James P. Fugate Administration Building board room.

Krause has dedicated every Monday to the second-grade students and teaching team at Hazelwood Elementary School for the last five years. Monday is Jim’s Sunday, as he works full-time for Metro Bus, Tuesday through Saturday.

Asked what makes Krause want to spend one of his days off in the classroom, he says, “Because it’s fun.”

Krause primarily assists the four second-grade classroom teachers by monitoring the reading progress of students. Krause reads one-on-one with students during timed readings for the DIBELS. He then enters data from the timed readings and prepares reports for the teachers to use during their team evaluation.

Krause also prepares classroom materials, files paperwork, assists students with math facts and inevitably gets hooked into hanging and taking down classroom bulletin boards.

He particularly enjoys witnessing students’ reading progress throughout the year. “Seeing students succeed who one time struggled with reading is pretty fun,” Krause said.

Other honors

• The school board will recognize Brenden McGraw, a fourth-grade student at Lakeland Hills Elementary School, for being an outstanding student on Dec. 14.

McGraw is a natural leader among his peers and was selected this year to represent his classmates on the student council. He also was selected to become a member of the Lakeland Hills Greeters.

McGraw is not only a great citizen and student, but he is also a successful athlete. He plays on baseball and soccer teams outside of the school day, and is active in his family’s church activities.

McGraw is supported by his parents, Scott and Jodi McGraw, his brothers, Chris and Nathan, and his cousin, Dale.

• The school district will recognize Katie Pomeroy, resource room teacher at Ilalko Elementary School, for her outstanding service on Dec. 14.

Pomeroy provides individualized instruction for children who qualify for special education services, including instruction in reading, writing, math, and social and behavioral services.

Her passion for research-based, best practices makes it an ideal teaching job, as it allows her to research and apply different curriculum and teaching strategies that best fit the needs of each individual student. Her ultimate goal is to build a solid foundation for each student and close the achievement gap to help her students be successful in the general education setting.

Pomeroy believes every student can reach their full potential. The key is for students to believe in themselves.

“When students are struggling and their self-confidence is low, I like to show them they are just as successful as the next student,” she said.

Pomeroy also believes students must work hard in order to make and move beyond standard.

“It may not come on the first try, or the 50th try, but eventually they will grasp it,” she said.

Pomeroy currently is finishing her master’s degree in education from the University of Washington-Tacoma. She earned her teaching certificate and bachelor’s degree from the university.

She is a member of the Council for Exceptional Children and attends various workshops and conferences sponsored by the organization in order to keep abreast of current special education issues.

Pomeroy lives in nearby Bonney Lake with her husband, 2-year-old son, and is expecting her second child.