RE Log - Fall 2023

FALL 2023 Ransom Everglades LOG 9 off her college bills by taking advantage of skills she learned from years of gymnastics lessons as a child. She had no idea training young gymnasts would help her discover her passion. “What I found in gymnastics wasn’t that I loved gymnastics,” she said, “but I loved teaching. That was kind of my ‘aha’ moment.” She also met her future husband, Jose Rodriguez, around that time. After graduating from FIU, Rachel Rodriguez taught at two elementary schools in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. By the time she began studying for a master’s degree in English education at Nova Southeastern University, she was married and had two small boys – Christopher Rodriguez ’10 and Alec Rodriguez ’14 . Those years, she said, went by in a blur. She recalled that her husband, who worked as an executive for a major corporation, offered plenty of support to help her navigate the busy and challenging days. He would take the boys every Friday night while she graded papers and did her master’s coursework into the evenings. She would attend classes at Nova on Saturdays, reuniting with her family at dinner, and then would work until noon on Sunday. With her husband’s encouragement, her career advanced rapidly. She wrote a curriculum for students to learn to read through the study of science. She spent a year training teachers to implement national standards into their instructional practice. Then, after earning her master’s degree, she took a job as the English Department Chair at Southwood Middle School, where she taught gifted students. “I loved what I was doing,” Rodriguez said. “During my 15 years at Miami-Dade County Public Schools, what I realized was that the culture of a school is everything, and relationships are the basis for educational passions. You never know what you are going to say to a child that will stay with them, whether it is positive or negative. You have to watch your words carefully – words matter.” A former student at Southwood, Alexandra (Lopez) De Leo ’10 , recalls that her former English teacher constantly challenged her to improve her writing through countless essays. Those myriad essays meant the work never really stopped for Rodriguez. “She was always taking work home with her,” her son Christopher Rodriguez said. “That was very common. I remember going home, the family would be watching TV, and she would be sitting on the couch with a stack of essays going through them. The sheer amount of hours that she works – her work ethic is incredible.” As the English Department Chair, Rodriguez taught English to more than 210 middle schoolers in six classes each semester. She made every student complete a formal essay every six weeks. She carried student papers to her boys’ soccer games and tennis matches, and even to the hair salon. And that’s how she ended up at Ransom Everglades. “Mrs. Rodriguez changed my life. It made me feel very seen and special for her to have taken that notice of me. She gave me this gift that I will never be able to fully thank her for. It was a pivotal moment in my life.” – Alexandra (Lopez) De Leo ’10 L-R: Former Director of the Upper School Mike Ferguson, Associate Head of School John A. King Jr., former Director of College Counseling Steve Frappier, former Head of School Ellen Moceri, Jose Rodriguez, Head of School Rachel Rodriguez