Maggie was raised in Cupertino California, the youngest of four. Her favorite memories of childhood were the times she would lay on the living room floor and have talks with her father. She would pose a question and he would respond with a question. Even at the young age of eight she realized her father was on to something, making her think out of the box, and that he valued her capacity for learning. "He empowered me to use the gifts I was born with."
After high school Maggie spent some time abroad which gave her the opportunity to see how other cultures interacted. It piqued her interest in history and how "we make contracts without ourselves and our governments." She went on to college and studied modern European/US intellectual and social history. Her goal was to succeed in obtaining a degree, her professors hoped for more, they mentored her in hopes of her joining their ranks one day. "But life happens." Said Maggie when the reality of bills to pay hit, it was time for gainful employment. With her history degree in hand, she took a job in administration in a county hospital as a "gate keeper" pairing people with issues to people with solutions.
By 2005 Maggie found herself happily living in Copperopolis with her husband (now of 25 years) Don Rollings and their children Levi and Pearl. When Pearl entered preschool, she would come home and tell her mom as they did homework together, that the teacher did it differently, or that her mom was not doing it right. This got Maggie thinking that she had to see just what was being taught. What she learned was a great lesson, the connection between home and school is an important connection. If a parent can understand how a teacher is teaching, that parent can then support that process at home. Its a win-win all around situation.
With Pearl in kindergarten and Levi in the upper grades Maggie realized she wanted to help within the education system. There was a program that had been purchased for the school but never been implemented that, the principal at the time, Julia Tidball thought Maggie and others within the PTC might be interested in launching. Hence the Read Naturally program at Copperopolis Elelementary.
Read Naturally is an all volunteer program that serves approximately 40 to 50 children per year in Copperopolis Elementary. It consists of one-on-one coaching and mentoring of the children building confidence in their skills with a "you can do this" attitude. It is a self-paced reading comprehension and skill builder program based solely on non-fiction material. This program has been in effect, thanks to Maggie and the many volunteers, since 2007. "We have only positive attitudes from volunteers and turn around negative attitudes for the kids. It is never punitive."
Maggie also is a trustee on the Mark Twain School Board and has recently been re-elected, as she was uncontested in 2012, for four more years. She coordinates and runs a skill builder workshop every summer incorporating all age levels utilizing a one room schoolhouse atmosphere and a group effort to reach a goal. She also volunteers at the homework club held on Thursdays after school at Copper School helping children who need just a little more one-on-one with certain subjects. Maggie is also active with the Copperopolis Volunteer Fire Association cooking many bingo meals and helping where needed, as her husband is vice-president of the CFVA. You may also have seen her in one of Linda Beck's famous melodrama's, as she has been known to do a little acting too.
To keep up with the ever changing world of parenting and education Maggie attends as many workshops as possible offered by First 5 Calaveras, "exploring relationships, learning about self, family, and kids. Shifting the focus from control and overwhelming responsibility to mindful guidance."
With all this work her goal is to capture the children that may fall through the cracks "give good direction" as with good direction and attention "they are less likely to have struggles and possible failures." Her goal on the school board is to "build that home-school connection, focus on the child building skills, citizenship and achievement." So that parents can better understand a teacher's perspective and teachers can better understand home, to "get on the same page without judgement...start rowing together."
by,
Charity Maness
update 3-14-13 11:23 am
Maggie Rollings is also the Copper Hills 4H Alpaca Leader.
