Educator Of The Month: Roxanne Angerer

Roxanne Angerer has been teaching for about seven years, starting at Severna Park High School as a long-term substitute teacher. Not knowing she wanted an education degree and originally earning a degree in meteorology, Angerer was a self-proclaimed “wannabe weather girl.”

She currently teaches Algebra I and Stat Analysis.

“My teaching style is really a testament to all the other people who helped me come from a long-term sub to the confident teacher I am now,” she said. “I think back to when I first started, some of the things I would do then, I laugh at. But all the faculty here was patient, they helped, they taught, they gave advice, and so I really am a product of the environment — that’s the kids, the adults, the building, the culture — so that is how I came into who I am.”

Most of the upperclassmen she has now, Angerer has taught before. Principal Lindsay Abruzzo recognized this personable connection Angerer has with her students.

“Mrs. Angerer literally can do anything,” Abruzzo said. “She’s taught the first-time high school babies all the way up to seniors. She's an amazing teacher. She's such a great asset for Severna Park High School.”

Angerer was Severna Park High School’s Teacher of the Year nominee. Although she was not one of the five finalists, she will be honored alongside 64 other educators during the 38th annual Excellence in Education Awards event at the HALL at Live! venue in Hanover on May 3.

“I think I just really connect with the kids, and I kind of see my students holistically and I see them and learn about them, and they feel they can talk to me easily,” Angerer said.

Angerer said it is important to be a good observer and listener not just as a teacher or a student but also as a person. During the Teacher of the Year nominating process, she reflected on how these skills can help avoid confusion from a lack of communication. She also thought about her overall growth as a teacher.

“You’re always changing; you can’t be fully confident in being a teacher,” Angerer said. “You have to be constantly changing because the kids are constantly changing, what they have to do when they leave is constantly changing, so you have to prepare them for that beyond math.”

SPHS’ teacher superlatives are another way for teachers to show appreciation toward one another. An important quality to have as a teacher is adaptability in order to maintain a fun and engaging learning environment, and Angerer’s peers validated her skill with a superlative nomination. She often is named “Most likely to give out pencils.”

“I always say I’m teaching you how to problem-solve and be a good person,” she said. “Math is just the tool we use — looking at everything that’s given in the problem, reading it, interpreting it in a different way, persevering through those longer problems, trying things that might not have a solution, being OK with trying things and trying it again.”

Angerer’s final advice for teachers seeking to one day be the Teacher of the Year: “I feel like writing and being involved in what you’re doing, and nose to the grindstone, pushing through is so important for wherever you go whether it’s college (or) whether it’s a job,” she said. “… Once you’re a confident person, it doesn’t matter if you’re learning math, English, business or technology. Those come secondary when you’re a confident learner and confident person because you know how to form anything to what you need.”