Meghan Rogers

When Learning Specialist Meghan Rogers describes how children’s minds develop skills and how that process can be supported, the words are dynamic, full of the imagery of evolution, construction, and travel: “How can we change pathways in the brain and create new ones? We approach this from a growth mindset… We build a foundation, provide scaffolding using a multi-sensory approach to the nuts and bolts of reading and other subjects.”

She says that learning support functions best in a community designed to meet the needs of the whole child, bolstered by the connectedness of staff, families, and students. “Here, the teachers are already knowledgeable about the learning needs of students. I help with assessment, planning, and teaching strategies,” says Ms. Rogers, adding that in addition to collaborating with teachers, she works with individuals and small groups.

Since childhood, Ms. Rogers has always thought of herself as a teacher. She has an abiding interest in the science of reading, studying how the brain attains increasingly sophisticated skills for decoding—the art of making meaning from symbols—and encoding—creating symbols, as in learning spelling. She has extensive experience teaching children and adults, and providing assessment and instruction design at several area schools. Ms. Rogers holds a BA from Ohio Wesleyan University in Politics and Government, and a Master of Teaching degree from the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education with Certifications in Special Education and Elementary Education for grades K-12.

When she is not working, Ms. Rogers enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons. The family’s activities include four square tournaments, rooting for the Nats, hiking, and going to the beach. Game nights, cooking, and baking also feature prominently. And, the interest that Ms. Rogers manifests in reading has a personal side, as witnessed by her membership in a book club that has been meeting for over two decades.