Carbon County’s Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees honored invaluable district employees at the Jim Thorpe Area School District’s board of education meeting on Monday.

Pre-K Counts paraprofessional Lynn Curran and Jim Thorpe Area High School faculty member Diane Gabrielle were recognized for their service with the Lauretta Woodson Award, presented by PASR’s Molly and John Phillips.

“Each year, during this time, we give all of the school districts the chance to name at least two individuals who are part of the staff, educators as well as extended staff, that have done something extraordinary,” said Molly Phillips, who serves as president of the Carbon County PASR.

John Phillips presented the framed certificates to Gabrielle, who has contributed greatly to the high school’s STEM program, and Curran, who was instrumental in the success of the Pre-K Counts program.

Curran and Gabrielle also received PASR pins and a monetary award.

The award is named in honor of an Eddystone School District English teacher turned Temple University instructor and assistant professor who played a key role in developing PASR during her tenure with the organization, which she joined following her retirement. Recipients of the Lauretta Woodson Award exemplify the passion for public education that Dr. Woodson was known for.

“There’s a fire, a flame in Mrs. Gabrielle with what she’s doing. She loves learning with the students, and she’s really rejuvenated that,” Superintendent Brian Gasper said.

Gasper also praised Curran’s work with the district’s distinguished early education program.

“To my knowledge, and from what I’ve seen, you’re really an intricate part of it all. We’ve just gone over the four-star designation for our Pre-K program, and we’ve been getting more students much earlier, and we have you to thank for that,” he said.

Gasper commended the women for their dedication to education, inspiring a resounding round of applause from the packed board room in their honor.