Continuous Adventure: Rogers plants seeds of learning

North Fayette Elementary Pre-K teacher Clara Rogers helps her students find the fun in playing while working.

Rogers loves that every day is a continuous adventure helping develop the whole child. 

“You want to take them where they’re at and continue to help them grow and thrive.”

Rogers had no plans to work in education until, at the suggestion of her sister-in-law, she took a job at a local learning center. She quickly fell in love with teaching, which led to becoming a paraprofessional with our school system, then going back to school to become a classroom teacher.

She found a home teaching Pre-K and being part of the North Fayette Elementary community. At an end of the year conference with the principal who hired her, Rogers shared her plans.

“As long as I have the opportunity to teach pre-kindergarten, I want to be here. They deserve the best, that wants to be here and wants to work with them.”

Together with her longtime parapro Dehavlyn West, she builds a foundation for their students, whether it is vocabulary, geography, life skills, or any subject that comes up.

“We’re planting all those little seeds, and our goal and our hope and dream for them is that one day, whether it’s next year or two years from now or whenever, they’re going to be asked a question and they’re going to say ‘I’ve got this one,’ and that little seed is going to pop.”

She loves the moments when her kids start to understand concepts and learn something cool.

“When you see the little lightbulbs starting to form and they’re starting to click, it gets really exciting, and you can’t help but to be excited for them.”

Rogers loves helping build a love of learning her students can carry with them.

“The why, to me, is I’ve got to get here in the morning to help them realize their potential, even at 4 years old,” she said. “That’s my why, to plant as many seeds as possible so that they can continue, for the rest of their life, to pop and live their best life and change the world.”

“The Honor Role,” an official podcast for Fayette County Public Schools, features employees, rotating through key stakeholders, including teachers, staff, nurses, custodians, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers. Join us as we dive in and learn about their journeys, their inspirations, and their whys.

Episodes are available on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and promoted on the social media channels of Fayette County Public Schools.

Episodes will also be available here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2200811.