By Clare Aman

Upper School English teacher Dr. Linda Rouse gets the best of all worlds by teaching multiple interesting English electives, masterfully creating students’ schedules, and being a supportive and passionate coach on the volleyball court. Born in Long Beach, California, Rouse later moved to Loyalton, California and graduated from Loyalton High School. She then went on to complete her bachelor’s degree in English and anthropology at Pitzer College, her master’s degree in English at Texas A&M, and her PhD in literature at Bowling Green State University.

At Collegiate, Rouse immerses herself in a handful of activities where she can interact with students, such as assistant coaching the JV volleyball team and being the advisor of The Hearth Journal. She also has an advisory of students in the 11th Grade. Rouse teaches a full year 9th Grade English class, and three half-year English electives: Multi-Ethnic Literature, Literature of the Wild West, and African American Literature. Her favorite part of her job is simply “working with students.” Her commitment to making Collegiate an engaging and fun environment shines through in her love for teaching and coaching.

Rouse’s master schedule board.

Along with her face-to-face interactions with students, she is also in charge of creating all of the Upper School student and faculty schedules. This includes helping students add and drop classes and creating the course catalog, which is a tedious job that requires checking and double-checking that each class is correct and up-to-date. She assists students every day, often having to switch the schedules around that she worked so hard to create, but she does it happily and without hesitation. In her office, there is a giant mass schedule on the wall above her desk, which is a true testament to how important her job is, and how Rouse works tirelessly to ensure that each student has a schedule that works for them.

All photos by Clare Aman.