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In the summer of 1995, Dr. Dottie Myatt, Union’s director of teacher education, sent a letter to Chuck Roberts, a 1980 elementary education graduate. Myatt explained that Christy Vaughn Rowland, a recent graduate, was moving to Texas with her husband while he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. Myatt, trying to help Rowland secure a teaching position in the Fort Worth area, asked if Roberts could be of any help. And as principal of the Cross Timbers Intermediate School in Arlington, Roberts offered Rowland a teaching position. Thus was ignited a working relationship between Roberts and other Union graduates making their way to Texas in the coming years. "The Union students that come here are very qualified," Roberts says. "I don’t really have to supervise them. They just seem to fit in in any area of the school." Open Door for Union Graduates Currently, two Union alumnae are working for Roberts at Cross Timbers Intermediate. Melanie Layne Davis and Susan Jett Larson both graduated in May 1998. Larson, who has been at the school for two years, has no doubt that she’s in the right place. She credits Roberts for making the transition from college to work a success. Roberts serves as an advisor for first-year teachers giving them additional attention and helping them become acclimated to the school’s culture. "He’s very open, honest and encouraging," Larson explains. One will immediately notice his down-to-earth personality as he’s often mingling in the halls. "He walks through the school, stops and chats." Davis adds that Roberts’ leadership style is reflected in the way the school operates. "He has very high expectations for the teachers and the students," she said. And, Roberts is committed to helping the teachers do their best in the classroom. Chuck’s History Roberts graduated from Union in1980 with a degree in elementary education but was involved in areas around the campus such as theater and music. But with no teaching position to be found around his hometown of Union City, Tenn., Roberts moved to Texas after graduation. Roberts landed his first position in Fort Worth, Texas, teaching fifth grade at Alice Ponder Elementary School. After only one year, the Mansfield Independent School District moved Roberts to Irma Nash Elementary where he taught fifth graders for the next four years. In the fall of 1985, he became assistant principal of two schools in the Mansfield district –
J.L. Boren Elementary and Alice Ponder Elementary. After three years in this position, Roberts was promoted as principal at Mary Orr Intermediate School, still in the same district. Cross Timbers Intermediate School Cross Timbers Intermediate teaches 1,070 fifth and sixth graders in a "child-centered, not subject-centered, environment," Roberts says. This elementary-minded middle school divides the classes into teams that move from class-to-class together. "The child is still in a secure environment while learning about in-depth studies," Roberts assures. Roberts says he expected to stay in Texas for only three to four years when he moved there, but eleven years ago he changed his mind. Roberts met Judy, now his wife, and has fallen in love with not only her but also the state itself. The Roberts have two children – 10-year-old John David and seven-year-old Julie. Now Roberts says he tries to make the transition to Texas a little easier for some Union graduates. "When I moved to Texas, I would have felt less afraid if there were some Union people here," Roberts says. "I just try to alleviate some of those fears by using that connection of Union." |
