Rachel Loftus: In pursuit of her goals
By Ginny Privitar CHESTER Rachel Loftus, the special education teacher for grades 3 and 4 at Chester Elementary School, was recently awarded tenure at Chester Elementary School. Before coming to Chester, she taught in the Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES for three years, and in Goshen for one year.
She's a fitness enthusiast who especially loves running. She will participate the triathlon Nationals on Aug. 18 in Burlington, Vt., where shell be running the Olympic distance. In order to qualify, an athlete must be in the top 33 percent of their age group or top 10 percent of USAT (USA Triathlon, the national governing body) qualified triathletes. She qualified in both.
The Chronicle recently asked her about her inspirations and goals.
What made you decide to become a teacher?
When I was in first grade I wanted to become a teacher. I told my first grade teacher that when she retired, I was going to become a teacher in my hometown (Bloomfield, in the Finger Lakes District). Then I ended up going to college for engineering but they had a math outreach program teaching math to elementary school children. I loved it so much, I returned to my original path and became a teacher.
Describe the impact a particular teacher had on you.
I would say it was my first grade teacher, whom I told I was going to become a teacher. Her name is Mrs. Dorothy Oldfield, and Im still in touch with her. She actually passed on a lot of teaching materials to me. I just looked up to her. We still exchange Christmas cards were in touch once a year. When I switched from engineering to teaching, thats when I got in touch with her. And I found it ironic that I actually did become a teacher after declaring it so young. She still remembered it.
What was a particularly rewarding experience for you as a teacher?
Being a teacher, you really have to find rewards every day, like when a student has an ah-hah moment, and theyve been working really hard to understand something.
I think the most rewarding is when they know theyve overcome that obstacle and they realize themselves that their hard work has paid off like when a student has finally learned their multiplication facts that theyve been struggling with, and you can see the pride in their eyes.
What do you hope to instill in your students?
I hope to instill in them (the desire) to embrace an active, healthy lifestyle, enjoy the outdoors, and be physically fit.
If you considered a different career path,what would it be?
I would do something in the realm of physical fitness. I love physical fitness, and I help run an all-women triathlon. Race season is from June to September, but I train all year 'round.