Annie (Kathman) Karle ’06 | From Spartan Student to Spartan Teacher

For Annie (Kathman) Karle ’06, Roger Bacon High School has never simply been a place she attended. It has been a community that helped shape who she is—and one that she has now spent more than a decade helping shape for the next generation of Spartans.

Karle is entering her 13th year teaching at Roger Bacon and her 14th year in education overall. In that time, she estimates she has taught roughly 1,755 students, each one leaving his or her own mark on her journey as an educator.

And perhaps fittingly, one of her favorite things is when those students come back.

“There is nothing like when the graduates come back and visit me,” Karle said. “It also brings my heart such joy to see my students reach their own personal milestones.”

Those milestones have taken many forms—from state championships and National Merit recognition to successful performances in the Fine Arts Center, meaningful experiences on Kairos retreats, and even learning that a former student will become part of the first couple married in Roger Bacon’s new chapel.

For Karle, each accomplishment is meaningful because she understands firsthand what it means to grow up as a Spartan.

A Family Tradition

Karle’s connection to Roger Bacon began long before she walked through the doors as a freshman.

Her family has deep roots in the Roger Bacon community. Her father, Tom Kathman ’62, attended Roger Bacon, as did her brothers Tom ’87 and David ’90. Her sister Becky (Kathman) Heckman ’85 was part of Roger Bacon’s first graduating class of girls, while her sister Donna (Kathman) Mechley ’88 was part of the school’s first all-four-year coeducational graduating class. Her mother, Sue (Schrand) Kathman, graduated from Our Lady of Angels in 1961.

“I wanted that for my high school experience,” Karle said of following her family to Roger Bacon. “The sense of tradition and family resonated with me.”

That sense of family remains just as strong today.

“I can easily see myself and my friends in the young people in my classroom,” she said. “We were all little Spartans, once.”

Karle always knew she wanted to become a teacher. Many of her older siblings became teachers, and her mother operated a daycare center in St. Bernard for more than 45 years.

Her time at Roger Bacon, however, helped deepen another important part of who she would become.

Karle grew up with the Franciscan charism at St. Clement, but she said Roger Bacon deepened that spiritual foundation and strengthened her connection to St. Francis.

“I feel a real sense of connection to St. Francis because of these roots,” she said. “My son, Declan, was even born on the Feast Day of St. Francis!”

Memories That Still Give Her Chills

Among Karle’s most vivid memories as a student are the back-to-back state volleyball championships in 2004 and 2005.

As a junior, she remembers watching the 2004 championship run from the stands alongside what seemed like the entire school.

“We had a pretty amazing student section,” she said. “If there were state championships for student sections, we probably would have won that, too!”

The following year, Karle became even more deeply involved with the team, serving as the team’s student manager and helping manage statistics, organize statisticians, calculate and log statistics after games, and assist with practices.

Her memories of the 2005 season are filled with the details that made that championship special—the packed student section, the camaraderie among the players, the long practices and even the famously hot Fogarty Gymnasium, which had no air conditioning and relied on “giant rusty fans.”

“I’m not being metaphorical when I say I witnessed REAL blood, sweat, and tears that season,” Karle recalled.

One memory in particular has stayed with her.

During one of the team's regional finals, the gym was quiet during warmups when the Roger Bacon student section suddenly appeared, marching down the stairs decked out in brown, white and yellow.

“I think our fans outnumbered the other teams’ like 75 to 1,” Karle said. “It gives me chills, still, remembering that kind of support for our team.”

She remembers being nervous simply taking statistics while watching the players push themselves and one another.

Then came the final point of the state championship match.

“I knew we were going to win on that ball,” Karle said. She told her teammate Alli Wilson, sitting next to her on the bench, that once the whistle blew, she was throwing her clipboard aside and joining the celebration.

And she did.

“I’ll never forget the deafening sound of the crowd cheering and the incredible pride I felt for my friends and our school,” she said.

Being part of the 2005 state championship team remains one of the coolest memories of her life.

Learning From the People Who Taught Her

Karle is quick to point out that her Roger Bacon experience cannot be reduced to one teacher, one class or one activity.

She remembers being blessed with incredible teachers, including Mrs. MD, Doc, Mr. Carey, Mrs. Schawe, Mr. Swedenberg, Mrs. Briggs, Mr. Von Luerte and Mr. Zlatic.

Several of those relationships continued well beyond her time as a student.

“Mrs. Schawe, Mrs. MD, and Doc—and Andrea Lemmink/Schwartz, though I didn’t have her as a teacher—have had impacts on my development as a coach and a teacher beyond my years as a student,” Karle said. “I have learned so much from these wonderful people and am lucky to have had them as mentors in my life.”

Today, Karle has the opportunity to play that same role for Roger Bacon students.

She sees her work as an educator as more than simply teaching lessons. It is about helping young people develop their character and their minds.

“I’m really proud to be able to help the new generations of Spartans hone their characters and minds,” she said. “It’s an honor to continue forming mens sana in corpore sano.”

The Franciscan Values That Remain

While the Franciscan Values were not formally articulated in the same way when Karle was a student, she said the values she experienced at Roger Bacon have stayed with her throughout her career.

Humility. Compassion. Service. Fraternity.

Those values, she believes, are particularly important in education.

“Staying humble, giving of yourself and your time, kind and fair are challenges in any career, but every student deserves to be treated in that way, no matter what,” she said.

That philosophy has also shaped the way Karle views her students.

Graduates occasionally return to Roger Bacon and ask her a familiar question: “Mrs. Karle, who didn’t you like in our class?”

Her answer is always the same.

“I liked everyone!”

She admits that some students certainly give her “a run for my money some days,” but she sees beyond the difficult moments.

“Everyone was a kid, once,” she said. “They’re just young people trying to figure out who they are. How could I not like them?”

For Karle, that perspective is rooted in the same sense of fraternity she experienced as a student.

“We’re a family here at RB,” she said. “I am still close to many of the people I graduated with. That sense of fraternity is real. I don’t know where it comes from or how it happens, but I do still feel it at Roger Bacon.”

Advice for the Next Generation of Spartans

For current students and recent graduates preparing to begin their careers, Karle's advice is simple—but rooted in the lessons she has learned throughout her own journey.

First, find something rewarding.

“But then I’d tell them to have faith, be strong, be kind, and keep learning,” she said.

She knows careers can be difficult and that perseverance is often required to make it through challenging seasons.

“It takes grit to get through a rough work week, but Spartans are made of tough stuff,” she said.

Above all, she encourages students to remain open to learning, listen to others and “see God in everyone.”

More than 20 years after graduating from Roger Bacon, Karle is living out that advice herself—continuing to learn, serve and form young people in the same community that helped form her.

From the bleachers of Fogarty to the front of her classroom, from student to teacher, Annie Karle ’06 remains a Spartan.

And now, she gets to help the next generation discover what that means.