Our Students, Now: Pre-K Teacher Stacia Fogg

Now a pre-K teacher at Edward Williams School, Stacia Fogg graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 1988. She has been a teacher in the Mount Vernon City School District since 1999 and now spends her time guiding students and their families through the first years of their education.  She is also a member of the executive board for the Mount Vernon Federation of Teachers. 

“Our pre-K scholars are so important to us, and they are in amazing hands with Ms. Fogg,” said Acting Superintendent Dr. K. Veronica Smith. “She has spent most of her career serving her hometown, and she is doing great work at Edward Williams School every single day. Thank you Ms. Fogg!” 

View the Q+A with Ms. Fogg below!

What inspired you to come back to educate in the city that you grew up in?

After leaving graduate school, I worked in the City of Yonkers. Then I went from the City of Yonkers to New York City Public Schools. An opportunity availed itself where I was able to go to an interview at Graham. I’ll never forget, I had to leave and go to the interview on my lunch hour. I got back, and by the end of the day, I was being offered the position for third grade for a teacher who had left. I’ve been here ever since. My first day of work was December 13, 1999.

Even when I was in graduate school, and I saw that other fellows in my cohort were applying for jobs in other areas, it was always my desire to come and to give back to my community. I truly understand the life of a child growing up in Mount Vernon. When I was a little girl in fourth grade, I won a contest. They had a contest years ago, “Why We Love Living in the City of Mount Vernon,” and I won. Out of all the children, I think there were about 10 winners in the District. I’ll never forget, we got a little $10 gift certificate. So, it’s always been my passion to come back to where I went to school and grew up.

Why did you enter education? 

When I went to Virginia State University, I became a big sister for the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. We would go out into the community in Petersburg and help at the community center to tutor the children after school. I was already a year into my major – my undergraduate degree is in information systems – and I said I don’t want to do this, I want to be a teacher. So, my passion was always to teach and to help in that capacity to try and inspire others. 

Were there any teachers or mentors that stood out to you in Mount Vernon? 

I had probably the most phenomenal English teacher when I was in high school; her name was Ms. Valentine. You know how you just honestly feel the love from your teacher? And I think that inspired me as a teacher today. Even though we are to educate, it goes so far beyond just teaching. These children come with so much baggage from other things going on in their lives, that sometimes the only love they feel is here at school. If my name had to be written on something years later after I pass, it should say “Ms. Fogg really truly loved her children.” I really love all my kids. I treat them like they’re my own. I just want them to know how much I value them, and that’s what was given to me by Ms. Valentine. I felt special in her class, and that’s how I always wanted my children to feel. It’s a wonderful feeling to not just be a teacher, but to have really made genuine relationships with students and their families.

What was your favorite part of attending the MVCSD

I had Ms. Cardillo when I was in fourth grade, Ms. Nardone in fifth grade, and I just think I had ultimately a great overall educational experience. I think that my teachers pushed me to want more out of my education than just coming to school. They pushed me beyond my limitations. I was also like a lightweight actress. I loved performing in shows; I was in all-city band, all-city chorus. These are just things that I loved to do.

How does it feel to give back to your community on a daily basis?

It’s really rewarding, even if you just impact one student. I know I’ve impacted so many more than just one child and one parent. I’ve been a support outside of my day to day duties as a teacher. I’ve truly been a support, and I think just showing up and knowing that I’m here for my students and my parents in every capacity. I’m a mother, so I can relate to my parents on that level. I was once a four-year-old or five-year-old who came to school and didn’t always want to be there and cried because I missed my mom, so I can relate and make that connection. I was once that person that’s standing in their shoes. That’s what allows me to show up everyday – that I can be a blessing to them – and that’s my reward, that I’m able to give back to them.

What would you say to a student who would want to also pursue education?

Honestly, I feel that teaching is a calling. When you see teachers only last a few years, then they say, “This is not for me,” I just honestly believe that this is something that you’re called by God to do. It just has gone so beyond the day-to-day in the classroom. I would say to someone if they really wanted to be a teacher, I would tell them to draw on their own experiences growing up. Think about what your teachers were like, and that can be good or bad. If there were teachers that you liked, try to use them and think of things that they did that made you feel special and ways that you learned from them. Then, all the things you saw in the ones that maybe weren’t the ones that inspired you, think of the things that you would do differently.

What is your favorite part of working with pre-K kids?

The hugs. I think getting the hugs and the smiles and just the true honest joy. Children are brutally honest, and that’s what I’ve learned in my life and career with children. They’ll tell you if they think your outfit is ugly, your hairdo is pretty. I just think the genuineness that I get from them, the genuine love that I get from them is really what I get from coming here on a daily basis.

Are there any strategies you use for success with pre-K kids?

I think that you have to have consistency. You have to be consistent with them. You have to give them opportunities. Some of the children have never been in school before, so you have to give them opportunities to learn in different ways. We do project-based learning every week; we have all kinds of experiments and activities we do, hands-on experiences with the children. I think there should also be situations where they’re learning from their peers and their interactions with the other students. They just can feel the genuine love, that they’re safe. They know that when they come to Ms. Fogg's class, the parents and the children know that this is a safe environment.