Salutations! I am Mrs. Rogers-Casarez, English Department Chair, and educator of some awesome tenth and eleventh graders! 

I am a mother of three wonderful children, Sophia-18, Steven-Anthony-11, and Sebastian Maximus-9. I have a supportive husband that supports all my career and educational endeavors! Included in our family, is our babygirl, Sparkles. She is our Siberian Husky that is with us most of the time!

I have been teaching for eighteen years. I have been blessed to teach all grade levels from Elementary, Middle, to High School, and even the Alternative High School (that was my first gig!). Most of my career has spanned across the Secondary Level! I love teaching using many modalities and styles of learning, but my favorite is employing technology. I love to have my students create, communicate, collaborate, research, and write using several forms of technology!

My eductional philosophy coincides with George Curios who eloquently states, "I have challenged the term “data-driven” (which I despise), and how we need to be learner-driven, evidence-informed.  I believe that if you know the student well, you can support them to do significantly better with better long-term results.  If I teach to the test, the students might do well at the moment needed (the test), but if they lose all learning a week later, did it help? If I teach to the student, I believe they can still do well on the test, but long-term, they will be better learners." Additionally, I believe that we need to prepare our students for anything! You never know what the future holds, so our students need to be able to navigate in an everchanging world! They need to be problem finders and create solutions to today's global issues....our students are truly tomorrow's leaders that will impact the world like no other time in history!

My educational background: Bachelor's Degree from Texas A&M; Master's Degree from University of the Incarnate Word; and currently, I am a doctoral student at the University of the Incarnate Word.

Career Highlights: Teacher of the Year twice in my career! Teacher of the Month twice in my career! Two of my "protoge's" became "Rising Stars" under my mentorship two years in a row. Technology Integration/Creation Award. Currently serve as a Master Teacher for the district!

My Mantra-When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'.--Erma Bombeck