Chapter 27: Janette Staton Rogers (2000-2002): Excellence In and Beyond the Classroom

Like many other teachers, Janette Staton Rogers was a child of teachers, a circumstance that provided a lineage of service to the education profession and one exemplified by service to students and community. She was the second-born daughter of Lawrence and Edith Staton. Her birth on February 6, 1947, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, completed her family which also included an older sister, Joanne Staton (Bartel). The family spent her childhood years in Oklahoma, with the exception of one year of kindergarten, during which the family lived in Brookport, Illinois.

The Staton family was a family of educators. Lawrence Staton, a graduate of both Northeastern State University and Tulsa University, served rural Oklahoma as a secondary educator at East Central High School in Tulsa and the principal of Carlile Elementary near Gore, Oklahoma. In addition to his work as an educator, Lawrence also supported his family as a licensed pipe fitter, an occupation which provided income for the Staton family during summers. When reflecting upon her father’s life,Janette recalled the influence of his work ethic which kept him always on task with opportunities to support the family (Rogers, Janette, pers. comm.).