For Roxanne, being around young learners and helping them develop essential skills is nothing new. After teaching kindergarten in Braham for over 30 years, she was ready to retire but wasn’t quite ready to be done helping the kids in her community.
Roxanne chose to serve with Early Learning Corps because she wanted to bring her knowledge and experience as a kindergarten teacher to pre-K students. “I know what students need to be successful in kindergarten, so I wanted to support them as preschoolers to help make sure they are on the right track,” she says. Embedded in the classroom, Roxanne helps out with daily activities including playing games, singing songs, linking academics with movement and teaching social skills all throughout.
She enjoys being part of the classroom and being able to make connections with her students, but her favorite part of tutoring is seeing the students’ incredible growth. To paint a picture, Roxanne said when benchmarking students at the beginning of the year, 15 students were far from the target score for their age. By the end of the year, all 15 were scoring at or above target!
To anyone interested in going into education, Roxanne says that serving with Early Learning Corps is not only an opportunity to gain experience with kids but also to receive great training. Even as a retired educator, she noted that there were things she learned as part of her Early Learning Corps training that she wishes she would’ve known while teaching.
This is Roxanne’s fourth and final year as an Early Learning Tutor in Braham Area Schools and it’s bittersweet. Serving with Early Learning Corps brought both joy and purpose to retirement and was a wonderful way to continue her lifelong passion for helping young learners succeed. As she focuses on supporting her students this winter and spring, she’ll also be thinking about who will fill her shoes.
She encourages parents, retirees or anyone who has ever wondered about a career in education to consider serving. Students in Braham and across the country need support! If you or anyone you know would make a great tutor, you can learn more or apply before December 13th by clicking the button below. We are still looking for people to make a difference beginning in January 2024.