CFD's Katie Lofgren looks to carry on the family tradition

From a family of educators to being on the path herself, Katie Lofgren, a child development major at San Diego State University, plans to follow in her mother's footsteps on a journey through education.

Lofgren’s mother has been a teacher for 31 years but is still honing her craft.
 
“She is currently teaching kindergarten at Los Penasquitos Elementary School,” Lofgren said. “She has a class of 26 students with varying learning styles and abilities, and she differentiates lessons to meet the different needs of her students.” 

Lofgren shares that as she grew up, her mother was her inspiration. 

“I wanted to be just like my mom,” Lofgren said. “Since I was little, I grew up helping her classrooms and the amount of time and energy and love she pours into her classrooms is really inspiring to me.” 

Lofgren adds she was inspired by seeing her mother “Taking that extra step of not just teaching the curriculum but coming at it with a fun and engaging version of what you still need to teach, but making sure those kids are also learning to love learning.” 

Lofgren plans to graduate in December and enter a multiple-subject (elementary) teaching credential program afterward. 

“I’ve been taking additional classes so I could go straight into the credential program,” she said. “In the future, I know I want to go into elementary teaching, and my heart is pretty set on K-through-second grade. I’ve always loved working with younger students and my most impactful teachers were from those ages.” 

Alongside preparing her course load for future endeavors, she is currently doing her lab hours at Hearst Elementary School. She is also surrounded by mentors, such as Gabby Prichett, the master teacher for the Seals classroom in the Transition Cottage at the SDSU Children’s Center. 

“I’m just trying to absorb as much as I can from each of them because they have so much knowledge and wisdom to pass on,” she says. “Gabby at the Children’s Center, she’s so patient and she’s always coming out with a positive attitude, and I know I want to implement that in my classroom.” 

Lofgren previously worked in the Poway Unified School District where she worked in the Extended Student Services (ESS) after-school program for four years and then was invited to continue her work in the resource room at Sunset Hills Elementary School. 

“I always knew I wanted to work with kids, but these experiences solidified that I’m good at this and this is what I want to do,” she said. 

Lofgren’s passion for education comes out in her schooling. 

“It’s definitely in my top priorities — I probably push myself a little bit too hard than what I should,” she says. 

But she also offers advice to her fellow students who may be on the same academic journey. 

“Slow down and enjoy the moments you have with these kids,” Lofgren said.