PSD staff achieve! See the latest awards, presentations, degrees and more

Poudre School District staff achieve and succeed! Congratulations to staff for their accomplishments.

Coach Recognition

• Bridget Johnson, Poudre Community Academy girls basketball coach, was selected as the Foothills League 2023 Coach of the Year for girls basketball. 

Awards and Fellowships

• Wendy Bergman, Rocky Mountain High School social studies teacher, received the Colorado Education Association 2023 Mary Harris “Mother Jones” Organizing Award.

•  Dr. Yajaira Fuentes-Tauber, RMHS science teacher, has been selected as a 2023 state finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science. The PAEMST is the highest recognition that a K-12 science, technology, engineering, or mathematics teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States.

• Laurie Krugman, Student Services department technician II, was selected as the inaugural winner of the Grant Superstar award from the PSD Grants Team. Her dedication to details and compliance while keeping kids and staff first in mind, and working closely with the grants team over the last two years has been instrumental in the success of Student Services grants. Grant Superstars are identified each quarter by the Grants team, and honored for their knowledge of their grant, hard work, and dedication to the kids and staff in the department or site in which they work.

• Amanda Pawelski, assistant principal at Laurel Elementary, was selected as the 2023 Colorado Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year and recently recognized as one of the 2023 National Outstanding Assistant Principals.

• Gabi Perry, RMHS social studies teacher, was named a 2023 Senior Fellow for Colorado through the James Madison Fellowship, which selects one secondary teacher per state per year. Senior fellowships are awarded to outstanding former or current teachers who are required to complete graduate study within five calendar years of part-time study.

• Cassie Poncelow, Poudre High School counselor, received a summer fellowship from the National Institute for the Humanities. She will attend a week-long immersive about "Racialized Spaces on Route 66", hosted by Northern Arizona University. The focus is social justice and provides an opportunity to create curricula all US educators can access, capturing a wider narrative of histories and voices of African American, Indigenous and Hispanic people.

• Dr. Melanie Potyondy, RMHS school psychologist, received the Colorado Education Association 2023 John Chase Political Action Award.

• Amanda Sutton, Lesher Middle School teacher, was selected as a 2022 state finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science

  

  Teaching. The PAEMST is the highest recognition that a K-12 science, technology, engineering, or mathematics teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States.

• Michelle Vandever, third-grade teacher at Laurel Elementary, was selected the April 2023 Rotary Teacher of the Month.

• Poudre School District held the first-ever PSD Celebrates awards event on March 30 to honor exceptional staff across the district. See the list of those honored and selected for awards. >>

Conferences and Presentations

• Stephanie Mosnik, Poudre High School teacher, presented "Lead with Hope: The Power of Uniting Rural and Urban Youth Voices with YPAR" at the National Council of Teachers of English conference. She also helped organiz

  

  e a successful TedX Mountain Avenue event at PHS on March 30, 2023. 

• Tory Nau, Futures Lab teacher, and nine PSD students organized the Climate Leadership Summit held April 19, 2023, at Colorado State University. About 260 high school students from PSD and around the state attended the event that featured two keynote speakers, 15 breakout sessions, and conversations with CSU graduate students about the importance of sustainable practices and forward thinking.

Education - Degrees, Certifications and Growth

• Zach Bennett, Poudre High School Integrated Services paraprofessional, earned a master's degree in biology and master's degree in education in special education/secondary science education. 

• Catherine Benson, Transportation Services bus operator, is learning to play the ukulele!

• Julie Giroux, Poudre High School IB bookeeper and administrative assistant, completed a master's degree in psychology through Pepperdine in December 2022

• Brittani Sirovy, Irish Elementary teacher, earned her certification as a National Board Certified Teacher in English as a New Language (elementary) in December 2022. 

Service

• Martin Luther King parade march leaders (see the complete news item here): 
  • Aloha Arceo Apitz, a Family Liaison At Poudre High School
  • Rocky Mountain High School Teacher Jason Powell, Fort Collins High School Teacher Jody Snow and student facilitators of the Youth Celebrate Diversity Northern Colorado Conference

• Preston Middle School staff and community are celebrating the Engineering Brightness program's 10-year anniversary. Through the program, students design, build and donate lanterns to communities that do not have a safe and reliable light source after the sun goes down. Since the program began, over 600 students and community members have contributed 10,000 volunteer hours to the program. They have hand-delivered 1,150 lanterns and conducted 10 in-country builds.

• Jennifer Smela, Fossil Ridge High School counselor, is serving on the Colorado School Counselor Association board (currently president-elect).

Staff Pride for Students

• Students studying German at Fort Collins High School curated an exhibit about Germany for the Global Village Museum of Arts and Cultures in downtown Fort Collins. Chadwick Williams, the Honorary German Consul Designate for Colorado, attended opening night. Erin Burr-Adair is the Fort Collins High School German teacher and German Club sponsor.

• McGraw Elementary teacher Paul Schkade, along with McGraw fourth and fifth-grade teachers, coordinated students participating in the Economic Literacy Colorado Stock Market Experience competition. McGraw teams competed with over 300 teams from across the state as they managed digital stock portfolios this January through March. Students assessed their level of risk tolerance, researched companies and potential stock purchases, bought and sold shared of stock, and managed their stock portfolios. Most McGraw teams ended up with a positive return on their investments. Three McGraw teams finished top 10 in the state, based on their total earnings and one team won first place! 

Staff Shout-Out

"Becca Benedict, Early Childhood Education director, has lead the way with universal preschool coming to PSD with courage and integrity!  She is definitely a heroine and appreciated by colleagues, families, and the larger community." Submitted by Ruth Beauchamp, ECE instructional coach

For more amazing staff accomplishments, please see the fall 2022 staff achievements news item.

Also, see who's retiring this year in this congratulations to retirees news item!