Katherine Brands is 2008 Tacoma School District Paraeducator of the Year

Interim Superintendent Arthur Jarvis said that any one of the five nominees for district Paraeducator of the Year could easily have been selected as the winner. He announced that Katherine Brands was selected as Paraeducator of the Year at the annual paraeducator conference on Friday, March 7. Brands has been a paraeducator in the Learning Resource Center at Wainwright Elementary School for seven years.

Brands was nominated by Heather Unfred, Special Education teacher at Wainwright, who said that Brands’ compassion, dedication and skills inspire her to be a better teacher. “She is always smiling and has such a positive attitude,” said Unfred. “Kathy connects with each child on a personal level and strives to make a difference in their lives.”

According to Principal Dorothy Williams, “Kathy’s compassion calms and instills confidence in children.” Brands is a person “who gets things done, and works tirelessly to improve our school” said fifth-grade teacher Becky Crist. Brands also has crossing guard duty as part of her job. “I love how every morning she greets each student by name,” said parent Laura Robyn.

When asked what she likes most about being a para, Brands said, “There is nothing so wonderful as seeing the light come on when a child who struggles understands the lesson at hand. I feel privileged to be part of a school and program that strives to ensure the children we teach have a better chance for the future.”

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