Utah Catholic Schools teachers to retire/Paula Roy

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Paula Roy

SALT LAKE CITY — After close to 43 years of teaching, Paula Roy, a math, technology and science teacher at Kearns-St. Ann School who is retiring this week, is looking forward to the break.

Roy said she has several craft projects lined up, wants to learn how to quilt and hopes to travel with her husband, Dennis, who retired in April.

The couple plans to buy an RV and tour America – perhaps even the world, Roy said. All the adventures that hopefully lie ahead will come on the heels of a very rewarding career, she said.

“I can’t remember not wanting to be a teacher; it’s something I always wanted to do,” she said. “I feel really lucky that I got to live the dream of doing that.”

Roy, who grew up in Littleton, Colo., has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Colorado and a master’s degree in educational technology from Western Governor’s University. She taught for several years in Colorado before staying home to raise the couple’s three children.

After her husband’s’ work brought the family to Salt Lake City, Roy began teaching at Kearns-St. Ann.

“I have loved every minute of teaching there,” she said. “I love the diversity of the students and have learned a lot about other cultures.”

Roy started out at the school as the fifth-grade teacher, but switched to teaching math and technology when the position opened in 1997. Math has always been her passion, she said.

“I feel that math is just puzzles, so in this position I get to play all day,” she said.

Students have changed a lot since her early years of teaching, she said.

“Kids today are very different than when I first started in 1975,” she said. “Their interests are so different; technology didn’t exist back then.”

Roy has no regrets as she moves into the next phase of her life.

“If I were to live my life over, I would do exactly what I’ve done,” she said. “I will always carry Kearns-St. Ann’s with me; it’s very much a part of who I am.”

Principal Susan Nakaba echoed Roy’s sentiments.

“Paula Roy has been the ongoing soul of Kearns-St. Ann School for 24 years,” she said. “Her famous Pi Days, handmade sugar Easter eggs, excellence and determination in teaching and advancing each and every student will be greatly missed.”