School is back and so is the POP QUIZ! This is a regular, yet totally unexpected, feature where we ask students, parents, staff, our friends, and partners to answer a few questions about what they are learning, reading, and thinking about. Today we feature April Rocco, sixth and seventh grade teacher at Milwood Magnet Middle School. She teaches strategic reading and also serves as Milwood’s Athletic Director and the WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) Coordinator. WEB, building on the belief that students can help students succeed, trains members of the 8th grade class as WEB Leaders. These student leaders serve as positive role models and mentors, supporting the younger students during their transition to middle school.
At Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo, we feel fortunate to work closely with talented and compassionate Kalamazoo Public School teachers like Mrs. Rocco. Also featured in the CIS Annual Report, Mrs. Rocco shares some of the benefits she sees by having CIS in her school.
Alright, Mrs. Rocco: pencil out, eyes on your own paper. Good luck.
POP QUIZ
What is something interesting you’ve recently learned?
How much money is made from low income rentals, just the sheer profits that are made, and the socio-economic impact of these low income rentals and evictions—how it creates a cycle of inequality.
Favorite word?
Excellent.
What are you currently reading?
I just finished Evicted by Matthew Desmond. It’s the community read, the 2018 Reading Together title.
What do you love about Kalamazoo?
Kalamazoo is big enough for having really good restaurants. Its size allows for many opportunities and things to do, but Kalamazoo is small enough that you know your neighbors and you can know what’s going on.
What is one of your favorite things about being a teacher?
Getting to know a new group of kids every year and then being able to watch them grow and learn as they move from middle school to high school.
What is the hardest thing about being a teacher?
Being able to balance meeting students’ academic needs and balancing these needs with their emotional and social needs.
You have a wonderful sense of humor and can be quite funny. What role, if any, does humor play in your classroom?
Good advice I was once told: sarcasm is not a teaching strategy. It’s simply not. And I really try and tame down that part of me in the classroom. You might find that surprising, but I do. That said, it’s important to strike a balance. I want to model to kids, that we have learning to do but that we can laugh at things along the way. But it’s important to do it in a way that allows us to still focus in on learning.
Behind every successful person is a caring adult. Who has been your caring adult?
Lots of people. Athletics has played a big role for me, so I would say all of my coaches played that role. I went to Concord High School near Jackson, Michigan and played basketball and ran track.
Thank you, Mrs. Rocco. And a big thank you to all you teachers out there who show up every day for our 12,000+ kids.
Tags: April Rocco, CIS, Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo, Concord High School, difference makers for kids, Evicted, Kalamazoo Public Schools, Matthew Desmond, Milwood Magnet Middle School
