Teacher Spotlight: LASD’s Kristin Pomorski.

Kristin Pomorski

Teacher Spotlight: LASD’s Kristin Pomorski.

By Kate Krieger-Watkins, staff writer.

Teacher Spotlight is a presentation of Shelby State Bank, www.shelbystatebank.com with offices in Ludington, Pentwater, Shelby, Hart, Hesperia, Manistee, Montague, Whitehall, North Muskegon, and Fruitport. 

LUDINGTON – Ludington Area School District teacher Kristin Pomorski has spent her entire teacher career, 32 years, at Ludington Area Schools. A graduate of Ludington High School, she couldn’t be happier about choosing to be at Ludington.

“I have been very fortunate to work in Ludington Area Schools for my entire teaching career,” she said. “I enjoyed substitute teaching for a year, teaching fifth grade for a year, and then teaching ELA (English/language arts) and reading to sixth, seventh and eighth graders at O.J. DeJonge Middle School for the rest of the years. Shortly after I started teaching middle school, I knew I had found my place in education. I have always enjoyed middle school students. I appreciate their enthusiasm, dedication, expressiveness, and their unique personalities.”

Pomorski received a bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University and a master’s degree from Central Michigan University. 

“I did not always know that I wanted to be a teacher, but it is absolutely the right thing for me,” she said. “When it came time to choose a career, I thought about the many ways I volunteered and interacted with kids and I thought of my two passions, reading and writing. When I put those pieces together, it was obvious that I should be an ELA teacher.

“The students are my favorite part of teaching,” she said. “I love how they learn, interact, and enjoy a good challenge. When they become enthusiastic about reading, pick up a new book, read more than they did before, and really connect with reading, I am happy because I know reading will impact them positively now and in the future. I also love the excitement of education. Every day is new with different content to teach and different thoughts, attitudes, and ideas of students. No two days are the same, and that suits me well.”

Always looking to improve as a teacher, Pomorski said there is rarely a time when she’s not trying to reinvent or tweak her teaching styles and methods.

“Refining my craft of teaching is a huge challenge that I enjoy,” she said. “This involves planning and creating units, discovering and using new teaching techniques, and utilizing technology. These ideas are constantly on my mind and I enjoy the creativity and research involved with them.”

One big change she faced in the classroom was not being able to actually be in the classroom setting at all. COVID-19 mixed things up for educators last school year and continue to do so this year. As Pomorski looks to always be redefining herself, the recent pandemic has given her the opportunity to do just that, but not without a lot of other concerns.

“The building closure during remote learning had its challenges,” she said. “I was concerned for my students and how they could learn and thrive during this uncertain time. From a teaching perspective, I enjoyed the challenge of finding ways to connect with students differently and to teach my content remotely. It was very time consuming, but it was interesting work. I was glad to get back to in-person learning, though, because I could tell the remote learning was wearing on some of the students, and they were eager to get back to seeing each other and learning in person.”

As the look of education continues to change, Pomorski said she hopes that, even though certain changes are good, in the recent months, any big changes could be quite negative.

“Schools are continually changing, striving to meet the needs of students in a changing world,” she said. “However, right now, I would not advocate for other major shifts in education. Schools have been adapting and transforming at a very rapid pace as we continually adjust to the pandemic and its challenges. I think students, families, educators, and everyone involved with education need a moment to breathe before we reassess and dive into more changes.”

Being in education for over 30 years really shows that Pomorski loves what she does, and she has some advice for any students looking at education and teaching as a career goal.

“I encourage students go into education,” she said. ‘Teaching is challenging, changing, and rewarding. My advice is to be ready to work hard every day and to focus on the good. It is a great career if you thrive on being busy, are dedicated to your craft, and enjoy variety.”

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