A Southern Soccer Star Scores at Murch
 Animal lover, amateur chef, and avid reader, Kindergarten teacher Sarah Bogan has kicked soccer balls around Europe, sailed the Galapagos, and whitewater rafted in Costa Rica. Here she tells us more about her active life and how her passions inform her work in the classroom.
You’re a Southerner. From whereabouts?
I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. I lived in the same house my whole life until I moved to Arkansas for college. I love Arkansas and consider it my second home. I studied at the University of Central Arkansas, where Scottie Pippen went to school and home of The Oxford American.
And the Oxford American is…?
A magazine that was founded in 1992, out of Conway, Arkansas, with an editorial mission to explore the American South. It has published original writing by many of this country's best writers including Donna Tartt, Charles Portis, Barry Hannah, and Susan Sontag; has featured the original work of such literary powerhouses as Charles Portis, Roy Blount, Jr., ZZ Packer, Donald Harington, Ernest J. Gaines, and many other distinguished authors; while also discovering and launching the most promising writers in the region. OA has also published previously unseen work by such Southern masters as William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Walker Percy, James Agee, Zora Neale Hurston, James Dickey, Carson McCullers, to name just a handful.
What made you come up North?
I love my school. I went to UCA to play soccer, but I retired my junior year due to numerous knee surgeries. I decided to stay at the school where I was active in sorority, university ambassadors, and intramural sports. I studied Early Childhood Education and received my B.S.E. in 2006. When I finished school, I wasn’t ready to stay in Arkansas (although I would love to go back). I have family in Potomac, MD, and they let me stay with them for a summer while I looked for a job. I applied to DCPS, and my very first interview was with Murch! I pulled up to the school and fell in love immediately. I came in to interview for the third grade position, but I was offered the pre-K position on the spot. Of course, I had to talk to my family about it, and I accepted the next day.
And this year you became a Kindergarten teacher.
Yes, several of my pre-K students from last year got to “loop” into my Kindergarten class this year. It’s fascinating to be able to track their progress so closely based on what I already know about them. It’s been an interesting transition, and I love it.
What is your greatest challenge as a teacher?
Time. There’s never enough time to do everything I want to do.
That’s what everyone says in these interviews! What activities do you do outside of Murch?
All of my free time goes to reading and travel. I received a Kindle for my birthday last year, and it goes everywhere with me. I will read anything that comes with a good recommendation. I’ve traveled quite a bit with soccer. In high school we played all over Europe, and I backpacked for a few months after college. With my family, I’ve visited Scotland, France, Spain, went whitewater rafting in Costa Rica, hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and sailed around the Galapagos. My parents hate to relax on vacations; so it’s always an adventure. Next year’s spring break will be spent either hiking in the Grand Canyon or canyoneering in Utah.
“Canyoneering”?
Traveling through canyons by walking, climbing, scrambling, and swimming through the rapids! I am very excited because I am a fan of Edward Abbey's books about the Southwest. I can't wait to see the places I have read so much about.
How do those travel experiences into the classroom experience?
For spring break, I went to the Galapagos Islands with my family. I brought back pictures and stories about the islands and the animals. A former student (who loves books as much as I do) gave me a book Sailing to the Galapagos. My students enjoyed the book so much that last year we put a hold on what we had planned to learn and chose to study volcanic islands and the Galapagos instead. The students created their own volcanic island and added pumice, plants, and animals such as geckos native to the Galapagos.
You even have a resident gecko in your classroom—
Jake! He’s a very cool leopard gecko. My aunt brought him to us from Memphis. My students enjoy building obstacle courses for him and watching him hunt for crickets. We even had the Geico Gecko pay a visit to our classroom last year. He taught us many cool facts about geckos. Jake is a dream pet. Geckos are so easy – nothing like the gerbils we had one year.
What happened?
One of my students, David, had given two adorable gerbils to the class. Molly and Polly were very happy in our class - or so we thought. But I came in one day, and the gerbils were gone! For about a week, pre-K would turn off the lights, spread gerbil food on the floor, and wait for Molly and Polly to come back. Turns out, they had been hiding under our block center the whole time, venturing out only to snack on Ms. Wierenga’s lesson plans. They escaped twice that year but returned safely both times.
What enhancements or new curriculum would you like to see at Murch?
This is a hard question to answer! I feel that Murch has grown so much since I started. I love the GROW program, and I am very excited to teach Writer’s Workshop now that I’ve moved up to Kindergarten. I had the opportunity to attend the Responsive Classroom conference last year, and I came away feeling so inspired. I would like to see Murch take RC to the next level with school assemblies, whole staff participation, and the adoption of the Responsive Classroom language and problem-solving techniques.
Finally, how would you finish this sentence: “If I weren’t a teacher, I’d be a…”
.. chef! I love to cook for other people.
---Donna LaPorte Scharpf
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