Ed.D. in Educational Administration, 2006
School of Education
February 1, 2013
“When a problem arises, it is critical to evaluate the situation from a place of what is best for the student.”
Dr. Rebecca Roberts likes to quote former President Theodore Roosevelt, who once said, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know you care.” She credits this philosophy with shaping her passion for education.
“It is this philosophy that drives my leadership. Throughout my tenure as an educator I’ve been fortunate and blessed to work with people who share this philosophy. At Villa Park High School we care about our students as individuals. In an age where budgets are stripped and the demands are greater, we still can have a profound impact on the education of our students because we have an unlimited supply of a powerful commodity: the ability to care. We have the ability to care about each student and to share that degree of unwavering care with our staff. We must passionately demonstrate a caring enthusiasm about each student, about each teacher, and about our staff members.”
Dr. Roberts received her B.A. degree in Anthropology in 1999 from California State University, Long Beach and in 2001 her B.S. in Mathematics Education. She began her teaching career in 2000 at Woodrow Wilson Classical High School teaching high school math.
In 2006, Dr. Roberts received her doctorate from the UCI/UCLA Joint Ed.D. program in Educational Administration. She credits her work in the program to securing her first administrative position in 2006 as an assistant principal with Las Flores Middle School in Capistrano Unified School District. In 2007 she moved to Villa Park High.
Dr. Roberts said she was drawn to the world of education when she discovered the joy of tutoring a student named Sam.
What I learned through the time I tutored him was it wasn’t that he was incapable of learning. It was that no one had invested in him or cared enough about him for Sam to care about his own education. It was my ability to care about this student that then led to his motivation to care about school. And to this day I care about each student individually. That is what motivates me as an educator and is also what drew me to school leadership. I wanted to be able to impact the lives of even more students on a broader scale.
One of the many ways in which Roberts has found success as an educator is through a tailored approach to helping each student as an individual.
With my counseling team, we developed a Pyramid of Interventions for our students, but it is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, we seek to understand each student’s strengths and struggles and to develop a plan to help that student be successful.
Roberts sets a tone for the team and for herself of getting to know each student as a person, not as a number in a data subgroup. She wants to ensure the team strives to do what is best for each student and never loses sight of students as individuals.
When a problem arises, it is critical to evaluate the situation from a place of what is best for the student. It might not always be a positive or favorable outcome, but if the solution or decision comes from a place of caring for the student, then we have done right for that student.
One example of a success story is Dr. Roberts’ effort to work with the community to see that each and every student who wishes to take an AP exam has the resources to do so. Dr. Roberts had observed that over the last five years, the number of students taking the exam at Villa Park had increased, while at the same time their ability to pay had decreased.
We meet individually with students and first seek to identify if they qualify for a fee reduction based on state and federal standards. If not, then we develop a plan for that student to be able to afford the exam. I am fortunate enough to have a strong community backing, which provides scholarships for students. Overall, I just work to figure out what the student can afford and then creatively find the rest of the money to cover the expense.
Dr. Roberts’ genuine care for the students under her guidance comes through loud and clear. She noted her favorite part of the job is when students are on campus, and her least favorite times are the breaks when they are not around.
I’ve been asked what my greatest achievement is, and it’s a simple answer: it’s a list of student names; it’s the students who come back to find you, or the parents you see years later who thank you for helping their sons and daughters. Those are my greatest achievements.
January 13, 2013 Press Release: Roberts Named One of Three National Finalists for Nation’s Top Assistant Principal Honors