PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (May 20, 2021) – “I haven’t been teaching very long,” Beverly Roberts ’72 ’78 said. “I’ve only been teaching for 49 years.”

Beverly Roberts ’72 ’78

Beverly Roberts ’72 ’78

It’s that kind of winning attitude that has led Roberts, Prairie View A&M University’s (PVAMU) interim director of Clinical Teaching and Field Experiences, to be recognized by her peers and colleagues with The Texas A&M University System’s (TAMUS) 2020-2021 Chancellor’s Academy of Teacher Educators award.

Open to education faculty members across TAMUS, the award honors faculty members who “have significant impact on the preparation of teachers in the field of education,” according to a System statement.

“The induction of Beverly into the Chancellor’s Academy of Teacher Educators of the A&M System is well deserved,” Whitlowe R. Green College of Education (WRGCOE) Dean Michael L. McFrazier, Ed.D., said. “She has had a long and distinguished career in the field of education, spanning nearly five decades. From her first teaching assignment as an elementary teacher in 1972 to her current appointment as a clinical instructor and interim director, Beverly continues to profoundly impact student learning and the preparation and support of classroom teachers.”

A storied career

A PVAMU alumna, Roberts has worked with the WRGCOE since 2007, specializing in the areas of special and elementary education. She also supervises clinical teaching programs for teachers-to-be.

“I just love the results of teaching future teachers,” Roberts said. “Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of nurturing students, often through independent study sessions, practical diagnostic testing sessions, mock interviews, career planning sessions and practically any other type of session they’ve often requested or created.”

Beverly Roberts and students

Roberts’ love of teaching first blossomed in 1972 after graduating from PVAMU with her bachelor’s degree in elementary education. It continued for 14 years as she worked as a special-education teacher for the Somerville and Aldine school districts in the Greater Houston area. Her dedication and expertise caught the attention of the Aldine Independent School District. She served as its department head for special education and education diagnostician for the next 16 years. For the last 19 years, she has held several special-education-facing consulting positions across the Houston area, including serving as an adjunct professor for PVAMU beginning in 2007.

“No matter how much I tell my students over and over again that I am an instructor and that they should call me Mrs. Roberts, and aspire to pursue their master and doctorate degrees, they still insist on calling me Dr. Roberts, Professor Roberts or Aunt Bev,” she said. “That alone encourages me to continue to do all that I can for them, and I am thankful for that opportunity every day.”

Roberts’ dedication to teaching teachers how to teach extends into her personal life. She provides scholarships in memory of her sister (who was also a special-education teacher) to graduating high school students who plan to study special education.

“Aunt Bev has poured so much into my life, my children’s lives and the lives of a countless number of students across the Greater Houston area, particularly those from Prairie View A&M University,” former PVAMU student Angela Tate said. “She continues to pour into her students, past and present, and is well-deserving of this honor.”

Teaching tech-savvy skills

A focus on the integration of technology into student field studies is one of many ways “Aunt Bev” has “poured into” her students’ success.

“During my recent clinical experience, I have stood apart from other teacher candidates in the field because of my status as a Google Certified Educator,” PVAMU clinical student Aliyah Woodberry said.

Beverly Roberts and students

“Because of Mrs. Roberts’ insights into the ever-changing field of education, she possesses the qualities to relay the most pertinent information to teacher education candidates,” Woodberry added. “These qualities will continually set Prairie View-educated teachers apart with these innovative skills as they prepare to enter the field.”

The umbrellaStudent wearing mask

Becoming a future teacher means being prepared and flexible. Across her career as a teachers’ teacher, Roberts has created a unique, real-life metaphor to represent those qualities in the form of an umbrella.

As a PVAMU instructor, Roberts started a tradition of giving out umbrellas to students. Why an umbrella? Former student Courtney Jackson explains:

“She would often tell us, ‘Every teacher needs two umbrellas, I got you started with one. There is no reason why you should be sitting in your car waiting on the rain to stop or standing at the door at the end of the day.’ We were very excited about our umbrellas, and my classmates and I often teased Ms. Roberts on many rainy days.”

With the onset of COVID-19 last year, Roberts added a PVAMU-logo face mask to that tradition. “Students have even sent me pictures of [them wearing their PVAMU face masks with] their dripping umbrellas in the corner of their classrooms and have reported that they love being a visible walking recruitment for PVAMU,” she said.

Facing new challenges in education

As Roberts continues her lifelong mission of nurturing future educators, she recognizes the importance of maintaining resiliency during times of global disruption or societal upheaval. Roberts sees the challenges the pandemic has thrown at the public education system as an opportunity to improve it.

Beverly Roberts and students

“Our challenge as educators is to sure that our students are well prepared to deal with not only the academics but also to deal with the social and emotional well-being of students in the public school setting,” Roberts said.

“I also think that, because of the pandemic, there’s a greater need for the schools to work more closely with the parents and parents to work more closely with the schools and that we invest together. No more blame game—just do it so we can make sure that our students and children are successful in the field of education.”

As for Aunt Bev? She shows no signs of breaking her stride. “I’m just gonna keep on doing what I’m doing,”— presumably with an umbrella close at hand.

By Jason Reagan

-PVAMU-