In a special assembly in front of the entire school and many special guests from LCPS, including Superintendent Dr. Eric Williams, the first lady of Virginia, Mrs. Pamela Northam, presented Ms. Rodgers as the Region 4 Teacher of the Year on September 5th. Last school year, Rodgers was named the 2019 LCPS Teacher of the year. As the Region 4 Teacher of the Year, she is in the Elite 8 to be chosen for the Virginia Teacher of the Year. 

Rodgers was not informed of the announcement before she was awarded. “I was surprised. I thought maybe it [the assembly] was going to be the girl’s lacrosse championship,” Rodgers said. Then, as she explained, the pieces began to fall together, “I saw the superintendent in the lobby [and thought] oh, there must be some other recognition,” Rodgers continued. “Last year as the Loudoun Teacher of the Year and I had to submit some paperwork for the state level. So I thought, oh, this must be me.” 

While the news of the award was a surprise for Rodgers and the majority of the school, just a few people around the school, including Dr. Brewer, knew earlier. “[I’m] so excited for her. I think she’s very deserving,” Brewer said. 

Brewer explained the impact that this recognition has for teachers across Dominion and LCPS, “It’s really good for Loudoun County Public Schools and Dominion High School to say, hey, we’ve got an educator here who represents the best of our profession.” He also described the wider impact, “It’s really good for teachers everywhere, because it certainly highlights what good teachers are about [and] the fine work that they’re doing.” 

Within Dominion, Rodgers is a government teacher, the sponsor of the Global Ambassadors club, and has a massive role in the Loudoun International Youth Leadership Summit. As far as how this recognition will affect these organizations, she said, “It gives the global ambassadors club a lot of [recognition], where we can start to seek out more resources for the summit, to expand it to make it even better.” 

Brewer praised Rodgers’ role at Dominion, “One of the things that this recognition testifies about Mrs. Rodgers is innovation,” as he went on to say, “When teachers come to me with ideas about how to make teaching and learning more engaging, I want to make sure that I provide them with the resources that they need to do [so].”

Rodgers said about Global Ambassadors, “I [think that] this type of learning is really valuable. And the fact that other people have recognized it the value and emphasizing expanding your perspectives. I think that’s sort of why I got the award.”

As the sponsor of Global Ambassadors, Rodgers said, “The problems we face in the world are global, and they’re not going to be solved easily. Getting young people thinking about, what do I need to know to be able to solve and what are the different perspectives on it? And what skills do I need?” 

The International Youth Summit is also continuing to grow, as this year two schools will be added to the program, making the total nine, with Stone Bridge and Independence High School being included in the program. The summit will run from March 20-29. The summit brings more than 100 students from 24 countries to Loudoun to examine world issues. Over $40,000 in grants have been secured over the years.

Rodgers has taught at Dominion since 2005. Before that, she taught at H.D. Woodson High School and is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree in government.

Other important LCPS figures included, Public Information Officer Wayde Byard, Algonkian District School Board Member, Debbie Rose, and many other important LCPS figures at the Administration level.