When Donna Spears talks about her connection to Monmouth-Roseville Schools, she doesn’t begin with a résumé. She begins with a memory.

“I walked these halls myself,” she says. “My parents did, too. Then my children. And now, my grandchildren.”

A proud member of the Class of 1963, Donna’s roots in Monmouth go deeper than tradition. They define her. After graduating, she left for college at the University of Northern Colorado, earned a degree in physical education, and began her teaching career out west—first in Arvada, Colorado, then back home at Yorkwood, teaching junior high and high school PE.

But it wasn’t long before she pivoted.

“Teaching P.E. all day, every day, was more than I could handle after having three kids,” she laughs. “I wanted something different. So I went back to school, earned my elementary certificate, and found my way to Lincoln Elementary, where I taught fourth grade for 21 years.”

Why fourth grade?

“They’re independent,” she says. “They can tie their shoes, go to the bathroom on their own. But they’re not too grown up to still love school. And it’s the year when they stop learning to read—and start reading to learn.”

That shift in mindset—the small hinge that swings open the door to deeper understanding—became her sweet spot. Donna didn’t just teach subjects. She taught habits. She taught confidence. And she taught kids to be proud of their growth.

Even after retiring in 2008, she kept going.

“I wasn’t ready to stop teaching,” she says. “I just needed a new way to do it.”

So she taught computers at the Warren County Library, helping older adults learn to navigate the digital world. “I used to tell them, ‘You’re getting a fourth-grade education,’” she laughs. “And they loved it.”

She also formed a group of retired teachers to help assess reading growth through AIMSweb testing, volunteering to track student progress three times a year across the elementary grades. “We’d go in September, January, and May,” she says. “It gave us a real sense of how kids were growing—and it gave teachers extra support.”

Her volunteer work didn’t stop there. For years, she was the official Box Tops counter, collecting labels from cereal boxes and sending them in so schools could earn cash rewards. “It sounds simple,” she says, “but there’s more to it than people think. And the kids loved seeing their class win.”

She’s also been a reading buddy, a kindergarten lunch-line helper, and a United Way board member—all while playing regular bridge games with friends she’s known for decades.

In 2023, she was quietly honored with the Ralph Whiteman Award for Volunteer Service, presented at the Monmouth-Roseville Hall of Achievement ceremony—a program she herself helped organize. “I missed the meeting where they nominated me,” she says, still a little sheepish. “But I was honored. Truly.”

Donna’s connection to Monmouth is both historic and ongoing. She praises the YMCA, the Buchanan Center for the Arts, and programs like Recharge and the Jamieson Center for supporting local youth. And she marvels at how diverse the district has become, thanks in part to employers like Smithfield Foods that have attracted families from around the world.

“You should see the kindergarten line,” she says. “The faces, the languages, the stories—it’s beautiful.”

Ask her what makes Monmouth special, and she won’t hesitate. “We’re lucky,” she says. “We’ve got a college. We’ve got culture. We’ve got people who care. This place has offered so much—not just to me, but to every child who walks through these schools.”

Her own children still live in town—one’s a CPA, one’s an attorney, and her daughter’s son, Anders, is headed to college next year. “I could walk to all their houses,” she says proudly.

And when she walks into town, she’s often stopped by a former student.

“Hello, Mrs. Spears,” they say.

She smiles. “Tell me your name again,” she replies.

Because when you’ve taught as long and loved as deeply as Donna Spears has, you don’t remember every name.

But you remember every face.