Her Story
Geri Rohlff earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Davis (1976) and a master’s in special education with an emphasis on learning disabilities from San Francisco State University (1983). A “last minute fluke” put her in front of a high school English class at her alma mater, Capuchino High School in San Bruno, California, in January 1984, when the previous teacher left mid-semester. She has taught English at every academic level in grades 6–12 ever since, using methods drawn from special education: individualization, mastery learning and conferencing. She has been at Auburn Riverside High School since it opened in 1995.
She was named the Wal-Mart Washington State Teacher of the Year (2004), Puget Sound Regional Teacher of the Year (2005) and Auburn’s secondary Teacher of the Year (2004). Earlier honors include the Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Education (1993), Outstanding Young Citizen in Washington from the state Jaycees (1993), and a King County special education Teacher of the Year award (1995). She attended a National Endowment for the Humanities summer institute on Victorian novels in 1998 and has been listed in Who’s Who Among American Teachers five times.
Her classroom has tables, couches and nine cushioned chairs, and its walls are covered with more than 260 letters from authors her students have written, including Elie Wiesel, Maya Angelou, Art Spiegelman, Pat Conroy and Dan Brown.
Beyond the Classroom
In about 2000 Rohlff created Recapture, an after-school and summer program that lets credit-deficient students retrieve credit through individual mastery-learning contracts. More than 650 at-risk students have graduated through it over eight years, and it has helped the school’s graduation rate rise to 90.5 percent, above the district’s 80 percent and the state’s 71.4 percent. She also teaches Friday School, which turns a disciplinary consequence into an academic opportunity, and a Study Skills class, and she recruits students for these courses herself. She used the $10,000 from her Wal-Mart award to start college scholarships for at-risk students.
As English department chair for twelve years and a member of the School Improvement Plan team, she analyzed state test data to find where students were weak, made more than 36 practice assessments in inference and synthesis, and taught the department and then the district how to use them. The school’s reading scores rose from 50 percent to the 80s, and its writing scores from the 40s to the 80s in a year after she saw students had not been taught how to write business letters.
She teaches thirteen independent-study courses nationally for The Heritage Institute and has presented on Recapture at state and regional conferences. She also mentors student teachers and new teachers, serves on committees of the district, union and school, helps judge the Voice of Youth Advocates nonfiction panel, and mentors students for the Auburn community career conference.
Philosophy Into Practice
Rohlff holds “an unshakeable belief that, given the appropriate learning environment, clear-cut teachable goals, and proper support with frequent monitoring, all of my students will succeed.” Mastery learning means students get multiple chances to show they have mastered each objective. In her reading lab, a month’s 500 points are awarded only once all of its requirements are mastered. She writes comments rather than grades on essays until they are ready to be scored, so students focus on the comments.
She meets with each student on each essay, and keeps a “can-do” attitude for those whose confidence is low. “Learning is not for the lazy,” she says of her college writing students, who rewrite until they understand. Her colleagues also describe how she calls home, conferences with each student to find the “frustration point,” and redesigns the lesson to help the learner through it.
“I possess an unshakeable belief that, given the appropriate learning environment, clear-cut teachable goals, and proper support with frequent monitoring, all of my students will succeed.”— Geri Rohlff
“One size definitely does not fit all.”— Geri Rohlff
In Her Own Words
“I dare anyone today to tell me, “Those who can’t do, teach!””— Geri Rohlff
“Education in the twenty-first century is dynamic!”— Geri Rohlff
“Mastery comes at different times for different students.”— Geri Rohlff
“I try to avoid frustration and negativity as I teach.”— Geri Rohlff
“Recapture saves high school students.”— Geri Rohlff
“The teacher inside the classroom who deals with students directly makes the biggest difference in student learning.”— Geri Rohlff
What Others Said
“Ms. Rohlff’s boundless commitment to students, extraordinary instructional talent and selfless leadership style is worthy of the National Teachers Hall of Fame honor.”— Linda Cowan, nominator and Superintendent, Auburn School District
“Geri is the most complete professional teacher I have ever encountered.”— Bruce S. Phillips, Principal, Auburn Riverside High School
“Geri is an educational leader who makes a difference in students’ and colleagues’ lives.”— Cindy and Jim Kemp, former colleague and former student
“Geri’s fundamental passion is to ensure that learning occurs for every student.”— Cheryl C. Moyd, Social Studies Instructor, Auburn Riverside High School
“Geri’s greatest service is towards her kids.”— Timothy A. Wright, English Teacher and AP Department Chair, Auburn Riverside High School
“Ms. Rohlff’s refusal to accept students dropping out as a viable option has encouraged countless discouraged students from leaving school.”— Linda S. Cowan, Superintendent, Auburn School District