Karen Melinda Roof graduated from Winthrop in 1987 with an undergraduate degree in Physical Education. While an undergraduate, she was named the NASPE Outstanding Student for Winthrop University. Her first teaching position was in the Montgomery County Schools in Christiansburg, VA, where she taught at the Christiansburg Primary School. The Rock Hill School system had the good judgment to lure her back in 1988 to be the traveling teacher for Ebinport and Richmond Drive Elementary schools. While at Ebinport, she was named the Beginning Teacher of the Year. In 1989, she moved to York Road Elementary, where she continues to provide quality physical education to her students, to mentor numerous Winthrop University students, and to be an innovative and supportive colleague to Winthrop University faculty members.
Ms. Roof (as she tells her students — if you forget my name, just look up) continues to be professionally active. She earned her I.M.A. in Physical Education in 1992 from the University of South Carolina and achieved National Board Teaching Certification in 2001. She has presented at SCAHPERD conferences numerous times, has conducted workshops for the Olde English Consortium, and the Educators Professional Development Institute. In addition, she has presented at the Share the Wealth Conference in Jekyll Island, GA. She has co-authored with Dr. Sandy Wilson, "The Portfolio Process: Things to Consider When Establishing a Portfolio for Young Learners in Grades K-8 in Teaching Elementary Education. Her service includes work with the South Carolina Assessment Writing Team for Elementary Physical Education, chairing the elementary section of the South Carolina Association for Physical Education and Sport, and being an active member in SCAHPERD.
In the last ten years, Karen Roof has been named Teacher of the Year at York Road Elementary four times. Winthrop University's College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences acknowledged her contributions to the Health and Physical Education Department and her excellence in teaching in 1998 by awarding her the Dean's Award of Excellence. Since 1992, she has touched the lives of hundreds of elementary educators through her work as an adjunct professor in Movement Activities for Elementary Children. She is the best possible example of teaching excellence at the elementary level and the Department is lucky to have her so close and so willing to mentor our students.