Dora Kennedy French Immersion Has Acting Principal

As the month of September draws to a close, Dora Kennedy French Immersion School’s academic year is once again in full swing. This semester, an important new faculty member walks the halls. While acting Principal Cynthia Rogers may be new to Dora Kennedy, she is far from a rookie when it comes to education. Rogers, a native of the Midwest, has called Prince George’s County her home for over 40 years. She moved to Maryland in 1970, after receiving both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in elementary education from Youngstown State University in Ohio. Upon her arrival in the county, she began her career as a reading and language teacher at Catherine T. Reed Elementary. Instructing second and third graders was a job she found instantly rewarding. “When children came to school, they were like the little flowers, the buds. As the year progresses with what you’re doing, come June, my goodness, they are not the same person,” Rodgers said. “I still have that same exhilaration, that excitement.” Rodgers remained an elementary language arts teacher for 13 years, and when asked about her goals, would reply “I’m just going to save the world.” For countless children, that is exactly what she went on to do. After her time as a teacher, Rodgers transitioned into guidance counseling. Following the completion of her training at Bowie State University, she served as an advocate to over a thousand young students per school year. Advising children in the 1980’s, a time when divorce rates had skyrocketed and families were changing, proved eye opening for Rodgers. She refers to the experience as one that provided her with unique insight and empathy, characteristics she continues to use today. “You never know what a student is going through. Be respectful of each other,” she said. “Take the responsibility to reach out and say ‘’I wonder if there is another way we could have handled that.’” After almost a decade of guidance counseling, Rodgers accepted her first administration position as the Vice Principal of Benjamin Floyd in 1992. In the years shortly thereafter, she was presiding over 13 county schools as an elementary instructional specialist, and later, a community instructional specialist. She took on her first principalship at Princeton Elementary in Suitland in 1995. “I would say to my staff, ‘It’s not Harvard, it’s not Yale, but it’s Princeton. We are about to effectively deliver instruction in this building,’ which we did.” Rodgers said. Under her guidance, Princeton Elementary was awarded the title of a Flagship School, and her staff have since gone on to become fellow principals and coordinators within the county. Rodgers remained at Princeton Elementary for 14 years, retiring from her position in 2009 after recognizing the need for more temporary, acting principals in county schools. Cristina Kallon, who has served as a secretary at Dora Kennedy for five years, has worked with four different principals during her time at the school. To her, Rodgers stands out from the rest. “She has definitely put some more structure in place,” Kallon said. “She has made sure policies are taken care of and that students are following the new policies and procedures.” While Rodgers admits that she does not know how long she will remain the acting principal at Dora Kennedy, she says her goal remains the same as it always has been, “save the world, one child at a time.”