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Kathy Roy teaches second grade at Finley Farms Elementary. She also taught third grade at Finley Farms for many years, but moved to second grade during the pandemic. 

Roy had a degree in fashion merchandising and traveled a lot, but she didn’t want to travel for work after she had kids, she explains. Roy had always wanted to teach, so she went back to school for her teaching degree and then spent six years teaching kindergarten. 

She says she likes teaching second grade because the kids are so enthusiastic about everything. Second-graders are “so eager to learn,” says Roy. “They are so excited to come back to school. Little things excite them.”

Alexis nominated her teacher, and writes that Roy “is great because she helps me and is very nice, sweet, and awesome.”

Roy was born and raised in Casa Grande. She says she was a tomboy growing up, and she continued to play sports and ride quads when she had her two sons. She also enjoys hiking, biking, shopping and spending time with her five big dogs.

“I want to live on a farm someday,” says the self-professed animal lover. Her husband has vetoed getting a goat, but Roy says when she retires from teaching she would like to open an animal rescue and have therapy dogs or miniature horses and visit children with these furry friends.

Her love of animals does not extend to creepy crawlies, though.

Roy says one time a student brought in a tarantula and wanted her to hold it. She did, but says she was torn between feelings of not wanting to touch it and not wanting to drop it!

When she is not in the classroom, Roy’s happy place is Disneyland. She loves the feeling and the lights, she explains. Roy visits the park a few times a year, and says she tries to be there from open to close—she strives to be “the last one standing.” 

Roy says as a student her favorite subject was reading. As a teacher, she enjoys teaching writing. She likes the second grade curriculum and is happy to leave third-grade testing behind.

Roy encourages her students “to always try their best.” She also wants them to understand that “we learn from our mistakes.”

Edition: 
Phoenix
Issue: 
August 2022