You can’t miss Rosie Russell, one of AMS’s three Special Education Resource Teachers and Case Managers, when she walks around campus. That’s because there is generally a large group of students gathered around her and her facility dog, Deacon. “He’s been a really cool addition to my life here at AMS,” says Rosie. “He’s a bridge to a really wide swath of students here.”
In addition to her teaching duties and Special Ed caseload, Rosie, who is in her 6th year at AMS, is the Queer-Straight Alliance advisor at AMS and a member of our district’s Insurance Committee and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. About AMS, she says, “I love the school culture and really appreciate how the staff feels like a family. There is a sense of warmth and caring that translates to the kids. Our Special Ed team is super tight and our administration is incredibly supportive of our wants and needs as professionals.”
Born in Texas, Rosie moved to Nebraska when she was 14 and attended the same high school as AMS Principal, Steve Retzlaff (it is a small world, indeed). After graduating from college with a degree in Ceramics and a minor in Spanish, Rosie moved back to Texas where she taught at an elementary school for 3 years. In 2011, she moved to Southern Oregon and worked at Hoover Elementary in Medford before getting her Masters in Education at SOU in 2017. As if that weren’t enough, she and her partner, Alexis, have raised two children, Ayden who is 20 and Ethan who is 17. And in addition to Deacon, they have another dog Missy, who isn’t a facility dog, but is cute as all get-out and serves as the matriarch of the family.
About her new classroom, Rosie says, “I love the new space! It feels so good to be in this open, airy, well thought-out space. My room is big and spacious and has a sense of comfort. We’re all really appreciative of our community’s support and this new facility.”