Eugene Ward treks from his home in Wasatch County to Redwood Elementary 2-3 times a week.

That much mileage for a retired man might sound laborious, but Ward happily makes the journey. And when he arrives at Redwood, he is greeted with the smiles of Mrs. Welch’s first grade class.

Ward comes to the school to tutor and read to students. His presence helps Mrs. Welch provide additional one-on-one reading time for her pupils.

“Mr. Gene,” as he’s known among students, can also been seen on the playground following kids down the slide. He makes a point of celebrating holidays, and is notorious for randomly bringing treats for the class.

There are hundreds of people like Mr. Gene who donate their time in all sorts of capacities to help GSD students prepare for future. Their presence in our schools has a remarkable impact on student achievement.

We salute our parents and community members who take time out of their personal/professional schedules to help lift our students to meet the challenges of college, career and life in the 21st century world.