Poudre School District R-1 honors student rescuer, Presidential-award-winning teacher and CMEA-selected ensembles

Poudre School District R-1 on Monday night recognized a sixth grader whose quick action put out a neighbor's apartment fire, honored a local teacher who received a national teaching award, and acknowledged multiple district music ensembles selected to perform at the Colorado Music Educators Association conference.

The district recognized Kat Golden, a sixth grader at Lesher Middle School, for extinguishing a fire last summer after hearing a neighbor yell that their apartment was on fire. Deanna Coaches, assistant principal at Lesher Middle School, said Golden’s father had taught her to use a fire extinguisher and credited the student with stopping the blaze and protecting lives and property. Poudre Fire Authority previously presented Golden with a community action award at a school assembly in December, the district said.

The board also recognized Dr. Yajaira Fuentes Taber for receiving the 2025 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), one of the nation’s highest honors for K–12 STEM educators. District remarks said Fuentes Taber is one of six teachers in Colorado and one of 311 nationwide to receive the award in 2025; the White House announced the year’s PAEMST recipients on Jan. 13. Fuentes Taber thanked family and colleagues and said the award offered an opportunity to “empower others,” quoting her child: “If my mom can do science, I can do science too.”

District staff highlighted the performing-arts recognitions and explained the Colorado Music Educators Association (CMEA) selection process. Melissa Flail, curriculum facilitator for the performing arts, described CMEA’s annual clinic and conference in Colorado Springs and noted ensembles audition by recording in the spring for a limited number of performance slots. She thanked district leaders and the community for supporting the arts and encouraged board members to view program materials and QR codes provided in the event program.

Individual music honors named by district staff included: Jennifer Roth, recognized by CMEA as an honored administrator; the Timnath Middle High School Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Drew Mendy Sabo, selected to perform at the conference; Rocky Mountain High School choral director John Friskany and the school’s low-voice choir; Rocky Mountain High School Jazz 1 under Logan Dodridge; and the Fort Collins High School Symphony Orchestra under John Hermanson. Flail noted these ensembles showed high musical quality, student leadership and districtwide collaboration.

The recognitions concluded with an invitation for awardees and board members to take a group photograph at the meeting’s end.