National College of Education
An educator for over 55 years, Mrs. Rose Johnson has had her heart in Chicagoland schools for most of her lifetime. From her first job at southside Chi- cago school, Carver Primary School, to her current Evanston home, Mrs. Johnson has spent a lifetime devoted to meeting children’s needs today in order to get them ready to face the world tomorrow. Mrs. Johnson’s family impressed upon her from a young age the importance of education. Coming from a family of teachers and with both of her par- ents having attended college for some amount of time, Mrs. Johnson said she learned that “It doesn’t matter where you are in life - education is key.” “It was kind of implanted without anyone saying any- thing that this is what you want to do,” Mrs. Johnson explained. Especially influential were her visits when NATIONAL LOUIS ALUMNA HAS DEDICATED HER LIFE TO THE CLASSROOM By Kaitlin Weiss
she was just six years old to Florida A&M College.
“You want to be like these young women in the dor- mitory doing all of these fun things. It was kind of a seed that had been planted there,” Mrs. Johnson said. It’s this same seed that she has spent her career planting in the youth whom she has taught. Mrs. Johnson’s career in education has spanned the last half century. She has served on school boards: the board of trustees of Spelman College and the board of the Warren “Billy” Cherry Scholarship. She has been both a Chicago Public School and Evan- ston Public School teacher, as well as a reading spe- cialist, and more. Her students can clearly see her legacy of powerful work being done in the Chicago- land area and beyond. “It was a lesson I learned that I think I have imparted to most of the children with whom I came in contact– that is if Mrs. Johnson can do it, if she went to this place and that place – then they know they can do it to or at least that there are possibilities.”
To begin her on the path for success, Mrs. Johnson
Rose Johnson ’79 dedicated over 55 years of her life to teaching children.
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