GILROY
– Gilroy Unified School District honored seventh-grade Brownell
math teacher Pat Rogers recently for being the most outstanding
middle school educator from Palo Alto to Gonzalez to the coast.
GILROY – Gilroy Unified School District honored seventh-grade Brownell math teacher Pat Rogers recently for being the most outstanding middle school educator from Palo Alto to Gonzalez to the coast.
The California League of Middle Schools named Rogers Educator of the Year for Region V, making her eligible to claim statewide honors this coming March at the organization’s annual conference in San Diego.
“Pat is a natural leader. She’s an outstanding math teacher. She’s there early in the morning working with students. She opens up her classroom after school and at lunch to students who need extra help. She’s just an outstanding example of what an educator is,” Superintendent Edwin Diaz said at the Dec. 19 school board meeting, where Rogers was honored alongside GUSD teachers Ron Kinoshita and Ron Ayala, co-winners of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year Award.
Rogers, a GUSD teaching veteran since 1987, was nominated by Suzanne Damm, the principal at Brownell. The California League of Middle Schools evaluated Rogers against 11 other regional nominees, comparing the educators based on demonstrated leadership, ability to incorporate state academic standards in the curriculum and going beyond regular job responsibilities.
Rogers has been a breathing example of those criteria, especially in recent months as a member of two district groups focused on reformulating how instruction at the middle school level is carried out.
As a member of a special task force, Rogers is helping to bring equity to all district middle schools by establishing similar curricula and policies at each site. Within another special committee, the 22-year Gilroy resident is working to align middle school and high school math instruction so entry into high school math is more seamless for students.
The easy-speaking Rogers does not espouse any highfalutin teaching philosophy, just a firm belief that “every child can learn.”
“It’s just a matter of finding that best way for each student,” Rogers said. “In my class we sing it, we dance it, we draw it, we do rote memorization. We learn in every way you can so everyone, no matter what their learning style, can get the material.”
Even though her efforts at the district level suggest a penchant for doing administrative work in the future, Rogers say she has no desire to leave the classroom.
“I’m absolutely not interested in going into administration. Let’s squelch that rumor right away,” Rogers said.
“I just couldn’t stand leaving the classroom. I would miss the kids terribly. I need to be around them all the time in my career,” Rogers said.
