Marilyn Rogers has taught P.E. at London Towne Elementary for so long that sons and daughters of her former students are now among those in her classes.
"I had her in fifth and sixth grades," said parent Amy Joyner, 38. "My daughter MacKenzie is now in fifth grade and has had her since kindergarten. She absolutely loves her."
So it's with great sadness that parents, students, faculty and staff will say good-bye to Rogers, this week, as she retires after a career in education spanning more than three decades.
"It'll really be a loss without Mrs. Rogers," said Joyner. "When my daughter walked into kindergarten, I didn't think there would be any teachers left that I'd had. But there was Mrs. Rogers in the lobby — and she remembered me."
Rogers, 53, has taught 30 years at London Towne, joining the school in its third year. Born in Arlington, she was raised in Falls Church, where she still lives. She and her husband Ken, who died in 2000, have a daughter Wendy, 22, who just graduated from JMU.
"I DECIDED I wanted to be a P.E. teacher in the seventh grade," she said. "I had an amazing P.E. teacher then, and I've always been a tomboy." She received a bachelors in health and P.E. from Radford University in 1972 and taught her first four years at London Towne. She was de-staffed to Cub Run when that school opened in 1986, but returned to London Towne, a year later, and has been there ever since.
Sixth-grader Irvin Mendez has had Rogers since kindergarten. His brother Edwin, 22, and sister Maria, 17, had her, too. "She's really cool," said Irvin. "She thinks of ideas for the kids to play in gym, but they're also for exercise."
For example, he said, they'll try to knock down bowling pins with different kinds of kickballs. And when the children are running, he said, "She'll tell us to pace ourselves, and then — around the last lap — to try jogging." Added Rogers: "I always tell them not to start out like their pants are on fire."
Now that she's retiring, Irvin feels "pretty sad, because a friend of mine in third grade wanted to still have her as his teacher, but now he won't get to." Fourth-grader Caitlin Terry, 9, is also sad to see her go.
"I like her a lot — she's a really great P.E. teacher," she said. "She's very nice, and we play creative games that she comes up with. I like 'Batman and Robin.' Two people are in the middle, and others are villains, and you have to run and try to keep from being tagged. I also like the obstacle course; you have to go up ladders and across boards and swing on ropes."
"And they get to swing on the climbing rope — that's their favorite thing," said Rogers. Saying she "never even dreamed" of teaching more than one generation, she said, "I taught her mother [who's 30 now]."
Through the years, she's seen lots of changes in her field. "When I first started teaching, things were more game and recreation oriented," she explained. "Our goal was everybody having a good time and staying physically fit. Now, it's fulfilling SOL and skill obligations."
IN ADDITION, the school's gotten more and nicer equipment, as time passed, and that's changed things, too. "When I first came here, we had one climbing rope, and now we have four, so 10-12 children can use them at the same time," said Rogers. "And we just got a climbing wall, last month, and the kids love it. It's eight feet high and more than 30 feet across, and it gives them a really good workout. It's great for upper-body strength, as well as thinking about where to put their hands and feet."
She said activities have moved away from team things like kickball and soccer because the children get so much of it at recess and through youth-sports organizations such as SYA. "We do more individualized things so everybody has their own piece of equipment, working on their own skills," she said. "For example, this morning, they were playing with Frisbees®.
Reaching benchmarks is still important, though, said Rogers. For instance, children need to learn to throw a ball with their arms and legs in opposition, and they also improve their eye-hand coordination.
"I really want the kids to have a good time and be successful so they'll continue to do these things and be fit for the rest of their lives," she said. "Kids today are heavier and don't get enough exercise, so I keep on encouraging them so they'll stay on the right track. I work with them and build up their self-esteem and get them to try things."
The toughest part of her job, she said, was "being Miss Perky, every half hour. I teach 10 classes a day, kindergarten through sixth grade." But the best part was definitely "the kids, and their smiles when they succeed."
Said Rogers: "They run up and give you a hug for no reason. I'll really miss them. London Towne's been a great community. The teachers are fantastic — I've made gobs of friendships I'll keep forever. That's why I stayed so long — I just love it."
She said she's retiring now because "it's time. I want to get on with the next section of my life, and I don't have as much patience as I used to. But I'm still going to miss it."
Rogers plans to take some time to just enjoy life. She'll play golf and tennis and spend some time at her home in the Wintergreen resort in Charlottesville. She also hopes to volunteer at Inova Fairfax Hospital, "maybe helping with the babies," since her sister and brother-in-law both work for Inova.
SHE ALSO hopes to do all the projects she hasn't had time to do. Still, she added, "It'll be a big adjustment. It probably won't dawn on me [that I'm retired] until next September, when school starts again."
Sean Hill, 24, of Centreville's Manorgate community, excelled in gymnastics when Rogers was his teacher. "She called my parents and said, "You might want him to pursue it," he said. "I joined a gym and later became a gymnastics and tumbling coach." And in September, he'll be a gym teacher at a Vienna elementary school.
"I'm ADHD, and gymnastics was a good outlet for me," said Hill. "Mrs. Rogers taught me that, despite my difficulties, I could learn skills like cooperation and commitment and apply them to my outside life. Because of my experience with her, I had a positive outlook on P.E. and looked forward to her class."
MacKenzie Joyner, 11 1/2, said Rogers is "an encouraging teacher. She's one of my favorites because she always has a smile on her face. She really made a difference at London Towne, and I'm gonna miss her a lot." Her mom Amy recalled how Rogers "always motivated children — even ones like me, who weren't necessarily sports-minded. And she was always friendly and happy. She made gym fun, so you wanted to go to class."
Former student Mike Mallon, 37, remembered his time as Rogers' student as "very enjoyable. We always did different things, like playing with parachutes." Daughter Sara Scott, 18, and son Brady, a first-grader, also had her.
"I loved her," said Jill Flynn, 37, whose children Spencer and Courtney, have Rogers now. "She takes time to talk to students. You feel special because she's a good listener. You felt like she really knew and cared about you."
"She's a nice teacher," said Spencer, 8. "I like running, playing games and rock-climbing." Added his mom: "My kids always thought it was neat that we had the same teacher. It gives us a special bond."