For 28 years, Kathy Robertson has been a steady hand and a kind presence in Monmouth-Roseville schools. Beginning at Harding in the mid-1990s and now working with preschoolers at Lincoln, she has lived the full circle of education: watching children learn their first letters and sounds, then returning years later with children of their own.

Kathy didn’t start in education. As a young single mother, she worked second shift at a nursing home. “I realized I was passing my son on the way in and out. I didn’t want to miss out on his life — he needed me,” she recalls. That decision reshaped her career. She took a kitchen job at Harding when her son entered kindergarten, then quickly applied for an opening as an instructional aide. “Schedules aligned,” she says simply. “And it lasted me all these years.”

Her son is now in his 30s, but Kathy still treasures the choice she made. “This job gave me the gift of being with him, and with thousands of other children who needed someone in their corner,” she says.

In nearly three decades, Kathy has done just about everything: classroom aide, RTI aide, one-on-one support, and now preschool para. “Anything from preschool up through fifth grade,” she explains. She remembers following a particularly large class from fourth to fifth grade, serving alongside beloved teachers like Lana Stewart and Kelly Ewing. “It felt like a family,” she says. “And it still does.”

The Robertson name itself carries weight in Monmouth. Kathy’s father proudly attended Harding as a boy — he even wrote it into his obituary. “He wanted everyone to know he was a Harding alum,” Kathy says. That family pride, paired with Kathy’s own decades of service, deepens the sense of continuity she feels when former students now bring their children through the same halls.

This year marks Kathy’s final one as a paraprofessional. She admits it is bittersweet. Still, she leaves open the possibility of returning once she reaches Medicare eligibility. “Maybe you’ll see me back in the halls again,” she smiles.

Looking back over 28 years, Kathy sees a school and a community transformed. “We’ve always had that family core,” she says, “but our community has expanded in so many ways. We’re so diverse now. It gives kids a foundation for the real world”.

She delights in the cultural tapestry her students experience daily. “It’s like the United Nations here,” she explains. “Kids learn early how to interact with people different from themselves. That’s a gift they’ll carry into the wider world.”

Kathy is quick to credit her colleagues. She lights up when describing veteran educators like Jill Flynn, with whom she shares a preschool classroom this year. “It’s not our first rodeo,” she laughs. “We know what matters — relationships, reading skills, writing, and trust.”

She also celebrates younger teachers, whose energy and fresh ideas invigorate the staff. “They remind you why you got into this in the first place,” she says. “It’s a team — from bus drivers to playground monitors to paras and teachers. Everyone matters.”

Born and raised in Monmouth, Kathy is herself an alum of Monmouth High School, back when the mascot was the Zippers — a bear she still remembers fondly. “Mascots are hard to kill off,” I joke, as she recalls the transition to today’s Titans. Her roots in the community make her service all the more meaningful. “I left for a year and a half for college near Chicago, but otherwise, I’ve been here my whole life. These are my people,” she says.

As Kathy prepares to retire, she reflects on what the work has meant. “It’s the foundation,” she says. “You build relationships with kids and families, and that’s what carries them forward.” She has lived long enough in service to see preschoolers she once guided now bringing their children to school — evidence of a legacy that transcends lesson plans or job titles.

Kathy Robertson may be retiring, but the imprint she leaves at Monmouth-Roseville is enduring. For nearly three decades, she poured herself into the foundation years of children’s lives — and in doing so, became part of the very foundation of the district itself.