Printer Friendly Version - Kathy Rocklin Feels Fortunate to Volunteer for North Haven Schools

Since a young age, Kathy Rocklin has seen the importance of giving back to the community and has volunteered in many roles in education in town over the years, most recently with the North Haven Education Foundation. Photo courtesy of Don Rocklin

Kathy Rocklin has lived in North Haven for more than four decades and has been volunteering in some capacity for North Haven Public Schools nearly the entire time she has lived here. She has served on the Ridge Road PTA, holding various positions; spent 20 years on the Board of Education (BOE); and has been actively involved with the North Haven Education Foundation (NHEF) since 2008.

“To me, it was so important to be involved and it really made me feel like I belonged,” says Kathy. “When we first moved here, I wasn’t going to wait for people to come to me and it was a great way to meet people. We have a wonderful, welcoming community where your voice is really heard and you feel like you can make a difference.”

Kathy grew up in Syracuse, New York, where she remembers her father serving on the school board. After earning her undergraduate degree in early childhood education at Syracuse University, she got her master’s in urban education at Simmons College.

She began her career teaching 6th grade in the Boston area and met her husband, Don. With Don serving in the military, the couple then moved to Washington, D.C., and then Seattle where their two oldest boys were born. During Don’s service, Kathy was active in volunteering with the military. When Don got a job as a physician at Yale New Haven Hospital, the family moved back to the east coast.

“We came 3,000 miles across country with a two-year-old and a six-month-old and I knew no one here,” says Kathy. “We’ve very fortunate that we ended up choosing North Haven. We’ve been in the same house for 43 years and we love the street and the neighbors. The North Haven education system is superb—my boys have done very well since they’ve graduated.”

After moving to town, Kathy and Don had a third son. All three boys, Zach, Luke, and Will, were involved in a variety of sports such as baseball and soccer and activities growing up. They all competed for the varsity tennis team and were part of the Jazz Band at North Haven High School.

When her children started school at Ridge Road Elementary School, Kathy got involved with the PTA. Over her years with the PTA, she held various positions, including co-president. Kathy also served as a representative to the PTA Council, which brings the PTAs from all six schools in town together.

“It seemed natural to get involved in the schools and I loved being part of the PTA,” says Kathy. “I was fascinated by the PTA Council and by going to school board meetings. What was it about? What did they do? What voice do we have? How could news be brought back to local PTAs?”

As Kathy’s presence at the meetings grew, then-first selectman Walter Gawrych asked if Kathy if she would be interested in filling a vacant seat on the Board of Education. Kathy accepted and enjoyed it so much that she ran to continue in that role.

“It was a wonderful learning experience from campaigning to politics and then serving for almost 20 years,” says Kathy. “We had great members on the board and I learned a lot from all of them. The focus isn’t on an individual school, but all of the schools, the town-wide school system.”

As a member of the BOE, Kathy served on various committees over the years, including being on the committee for renovating all four elementary schools in the early 1990s and the building committee for the new high school, which opened in 2005. She notes that the high school building committee met every Monday morning for “a couple of years” in preparation for the project.

“We were very proud to be able to say we were on time and under budget,” says Kathy. “Those committees were a lot of work and I spent a tremendous amount of volunteer hours with the BOE, but I learned a lot.”

When Kathy stepped away from the BOE in 2008, she didn’t stop helping North Haven schools. After nearly 20 years on the BOE, the NHEF presented Kathy with a Community Star Award. She was asked to join the board.

“It was another way of taking things I learned as BOE member and on the PTA and another good step in being involved in the community and education,” says Kathy. “The NHEF is a non-profit organization that was started to bridge the gap between what the town can afford to give the school system and what the school system needs.”

Since its founding in 2004, the NHEF has raised nearly $800,000 that it has used to fund various projects and initiatives throughout the town’s schools. Teachers can apply for creativity grants. Some projects funded by the NHEF include a technology lab at the middle school, science labs in elementary schools, a robotics program, sports and playground equipment, a teachers’ writing program at Columbia University, and funding toward girls’ rugby and boys’ and girls’ lacrosse.

“The list goes on and on,” says Kathy. “We like to think we’ve make a wonderful difference in the lives of the kids in our community.”

Kathy chaired the committee for the Adult Spelling Bee, which raised about $25,000 each year, for five years. The NHEF also hosts the annual Community Star Dinner and will hold trivia night on Friday, May 13 at Scarlett’s Fine Events at the Hook & Ladder located in the Best Western on Washington Avenue.

Kathy is particularly excited for the upcoming trivia night since the NHEF has not been able to host an event since 2019 due to COVID. For trivia night, which Kathy is chairing, doors will open at 6 p.m. with trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. Food will be served and North Haven High School Principal Russ Dallai will emcee the event.

“We’re looking forward to a really nice event with prizes, surprises, and more,” says Kathy. “We have a great committee and the board members are wonderful. With this event, you can support the fundraiser, have a wonderful night out, and have some fun. We are thrilled we’re going to be back to say hello to the community, get them involved, raise money for the schools, and have a good time doing it.”

In addition to her many volunteer hours, Kathy also took on a new career 18 years ago. She decided to become a realtor and now works with Calcagni Real Estate out of Wallingford.

When she isn’t working or volunteering, Kathy enjoys spending time with three grandsons, tending to her flower gardens, and cooking and collecting cookbooks. Kathy is also looking forward to returning to her weekly bridge group in person, though the group did continue to play on the computer throughout the pandemic.

One of her favorite hobbies is singing with Silk’n Sounds, the all-women a cappella group with which she has been involved for 10 years. The group rehearses at the high school and does performances and competitions. They are currently preparing for a competition in Boston at the end of April.

“I love to sing and fell in love with being involved,” says Kathy, who sings bass. “It’s lots of fun and really different from what I ordinarily do.”

Even with her job and all of her hobbies, Kathy will always make time to volunteer. She hopes that others also find the time to get involved in their commuting as well.

“I’ve always drifted toward volunteering and giving back to the community, which is how I was raised,” says Kathy. “I’ve been fortunate to be in the position that I have time to be able to give and I’ve enjoyed all of the opportunities North Haven has provided. It has been well worth it. If you have the time to give, it’s so important and it comes back to you tenfold in terms of the friendships you make and the wonderful learning experiences.”