Howdy, I am Counselor (Kayla) Roberts

Where do you teach?

I proudly teach at Butler Elementary School.

What grade/subject do you teach?

I teach social and emotional learning as a counselor.

Why do you teach?

I teach because I enjoy the feeling of making connections with students, while pushing each student far beyond their greatest potential that they can’t see within themselves and for them to feel that smile they put on their face.

What is your favorite part of the school day?

My favorite part of the school day is being able to see students play with their friends. I enjoy this part of the day because it puts a smile on the students’ face and you get to see and understand their personality.

What are you working hardest on right now?

I work hard on making connections with every student and family, while exposing students that might have a “tougher” background to a deeper view and purpose of life.

What are you most proud of as a teacher?

I am most proud of working hands-on with students since they are our today, tomorrow and future.

What makes you the happiest as a teacher?

What makes me the happiest as a counselor is being able to go into each classroom inside the school building while teaching and making personal connections with each student. Each student has a story that they tell verbally or non-verbally and I am eager to get to know that person while putting a smile on their face.

How do you contribute to/how are you involved in our community outside of school?

Being a recent Texan and moving here within the last year, I have learned to connect with the community by supporting students outside of school, whether that is sports or some sort of extracurricular activity that they invite me to attend or that I know about.

What are your interests/hobbies outside of school?

I welcome every tropical place with a beach. I travel and cruise my way around the world every chance I get. I love getting to know other cultures and tasting different foods while seeing the sun rise in various places around the world. I beg to endeavor into deep historical conversations and one day plan to write a book on being “Double Minority in America, Yet Still I Rise!”

What do you wish your students/families knew about you?

I wish my students knew the sacrifice that I consciously make to serve them and to put a smile on their face. As I mark my place in the awesome community of Fort Dodge, I actively miss my Texan family but the students’ smiles and the community here seems to keep me planted as they water me with their warm personalities.

What does Together We Rise mean to you?

Together we rise means no matter the religion, background, ethnicity, or beliefs of a person, if one has a need or a struggle, it is not individualized, nor ostracized, but together we rise as a community to fix the issue at hand, bridge that gap of biases, and go beyond the surface level in our thinking and actions for the greater good of humanity.