Teacher Feature – Mrs. Robin Donlan
Mrs. Robin Donlan was inspired to become a teacher by her 6th grade teacher when she was in elementary school. "That teacher made a real difference in my life," said Donlan. "I hope now that I am doing the same for the children that I teach and that I'm improving their academic and social lives."
Donlan has been positively changing the lives of children for more than twenty years now. She started out her career as a substitute teacher in 1988. Her first year under contract was with the La Mesa Spring Valley District as a resource specialist program (RSP) teacher. She then went on to become a Special Day Class (SDC) Teacher at Castle Park Elementary School in grades 4/5/6 for the next 14 years. Since 2004, she has been a fourth grade teacher at Hilltop
She truly enjoys working with her students and getting to be part of their lives. "I only wish there was more time in each day so that I could provide more support and help to those that need it," said Donlan.
Her daily classroom routine begins with language arts and writing, board work, and discussions of various texts for the week. After recess comes D-Block which deals with writing strategies, response to literature, and understanding author's meaning. In the afternoon, she teaches math and science. In her science class, students recently learned about earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides. To bring the subject of volcanoes to life she conducted special experiments using baking soda and vinegar.
“Robin is very creative and there’s never a dull moment when she is around,” said Janel Cunningham, one of Mrs. Donlan’s grade level team mates. “She is extremely generous with her time and resources for both teachers and students and she gives a lot from her heart.”
One of her roles as a classroom teacher is that of a facilitator of learning. "I help students get the information they need to know, said Donlan. "If learning is a ship, I need to guide it safely to its destination.”
Her sense of humor and knack at taking something difficult and making it interesting to her students so that they want to learn make being in her class and enjoyable experience.
“Mrs. Donlan is a fun teacher but she can be serious too. I like being in her class,” said Katia De Leon, one of Donlan’s fourth graders.
If a student is struggling academically in her class or is new to the English language, Donlan uses a variety of strategies to break learning into steps. Additionally, she uses a lot of visuals such as drawings and illustrations along with items from the real world (realia) to help bring subjects to life.
Donlan believes that the most successful students are the ones that really put forth some effort. “Effort is 90 percent or more of academic success” said Donlan. “I also feel that students need to be reading for pleasure more during their spare time. It helps you identify who you are.”
She communicates with parents daily thru progress reports that get signed on a daily basis. “This year I have a lot of parent support in the classroom,” said Donlan. “Parents are around on a regular basis and have been wonderful at helping out.”
In her spare time, Mrs. Donlan likes to sew, make jewelry, and collect dolls, especially Tinker
Bell. She has also worked for Comic-Con for the past 31 years and is vice president of the events division which has 11 departments. This job keeps her very busy during the summer break.
Mrs. Robin Donlan was inspired to become a teacher by her 6th grade teacher when she was in elementary school. "That teacher made a real difference in my life," said Donlan. "I hope now that I am doing the same for the children that I teach and that I'm improving their academic and social lives."
Donlan has been positively changing the lives of children for more than twenty years now. She started out her career as a substitute teacher in 1988. Her first year under contract was with the La Mesa Spring Valley District as a resource specialist program (RSP) teacher. She then went on to become a Special Day Class (SDC) Teacher at Castle Park Elementary School in grades 4/5/6 for the next 14 years. Since 2004, she has been a fourth grade teacher at Hilltop
She truly enjoys working with her students and getting to be part of their lives. "I only wish there was more time in each day so that I could provide more support and help to those that need it," said Donlan.
Her daily classroom routine begins with language arts and writing, board work, and discussions of various texts for the week. After recess comes D-Block which deals with writing strategies, response to literature, and understanding author's meaning. In the afternoon, she teaches math and science. In her science class, students recently learned about earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides. To bring the subject of volcanoes to life she conducted special experiments using baking soda and vinegar.
“Robin is very creative and there’s never a dull moment when she is around,” said Janel Cunningham, one of Mrs. Donlan’s grade level team mates. “She is extremely generous with her time and resources for both teachers and students and she gives a lot from her heart.”
One of her roles as a classroom teacher is that of a facilitator of learning. "I help students get the information they need to know, said Donlan. "If learning is a ship, I need to guide it safely to its destination.”
Her sense of humor and knack at taking something difficult and making it interesting to her students so that they want to learn make being in her class and enjoyable experience.
“Mrs. Donlan is a fun teacher but she can be serious too. I like being in her class,” said Katia De Leon, one of Donlan’s fourth graders.
If a student is struggling academically in her class or is new to the English language, Donlan uses a variety of strategies to break learning into steps. Additionally, she uses a lot of visuals such as drawings and illustrations along with items from the real world (realia) to help bring subjects to life.
Donlan believes that the most successful students are the ones that really put forth some effort. “Effort is 90 percent or more of academic success” said Donlan. “I also feel that students need to be reading for pleasure more during their spare time. It helps you identify who you are.”
She communicates with parents daily thru progress reports that get signed on a daily basis. “This year I have a lot of parent support in the classroom,” said Donlan. “Parents are around on a regular basis and have been wonderful at helping out.”
In her spare time, Mrs. Donlan likes to sew, make jewelry, and collect dolls, especially Tinker
Bell. She has also worked for Comic-Con for the past 31 years and is vice president of the events division which has 11 departments. This job keeps her very busy during the summer break.