As evidenced by the bear cutouts on her wall, teacher Mary Rodriguez has been using a Care Bear motif in her classroom for the last 12 years. Rodriguez is a firm believer in bolstering the self-esteem of her students.

benjie sanders / Arizona Daily Star

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When asked about her job, Mary Rodriguez is quick to the point.

"I do love kindergarten," said Rodriguez, who teaches the tykes at C.E. Rose Elementary School. "We're the Care Bears."

A colorful stuffed toy and cartoon from the 1980s, the Care Bears, Rodriguez explains, are emblematic of a confidence and positive identity she wants to instill in her students.

Calling her class the Care Bears, Rodriguez says, gives students a positive collective identity and helps them learn to care for themselves, their friends, the classroom and their work.

Her boss agrees.

"They take a lot of pride in being the Care Bears," said C.E. Rose Principal Stephen Trejo

Rodriguez is one of seven local teachers selected for the 2006 Rodel Charitable Foundation of Arizona's Exemplary Teacher Initiative, from a field of 1,000 Tucson teachers. The foundation honors educators who excel at jobs in high-poverty schools. The teachers receive $10,000 in savings bonds and will mentor University of Arizona education seniors for three years.

Students from a span of more than a decade can call themselves Care Bears. Rodriguez said she has been using the phrase for 12 years. Her classroom is even decorated with Care Bear toys and paraphernalia.

Rodriguez has taught for 26 years, beginning as a student teacher at Santa Clara Elementary School, 6910 S. Santa Clara Ave., before moving to the Tucson Unified School District, where she worked at Wright Elementary School, 4311 E. Linden St., and C.E. Rose, 710 W. Michigan Drive.

"All Title I schools," she's quick to point out, referring to the federal program that funnels extra money to schools with large numbers of low-income students.

Asked why she's chosen to work at Title I schools, Rodriguez said, "These children are just as smart as the students at the more affluent schools."

Her belief that every child is capable of success is one of the things that immediately struck Trejo when he first met Rodriguez in May 2005.

The two met, he recalled, because she was interested in a teaching position at C.E. Rose. He said he was impressed with her attitude and confidence that language barriers and poor vocabulary skills are obstacles that can be surmounted. Trejo said he also was struck by how humble she was.

"She knew this is a great responsibility," Trejo said. "She's not just looking at preparing them for first grade. She's looking at way down the road."

Even in the new era of state and federal standards such as AIMS and No Child Left Behind, Rodriguez says teachers can personalize their lessons to fit the needs of their students and instill high self-esteem.

Sometimes it takes only a few minutes to give students that extra attention, she said.

"We have a song we sing every day: 'We Are Special,' " Rodriguez said.

It works, Trejo said.

"Every one of those students knows how much she cares," he says, adding that the realization prompts students to recognize the demands of the classroom.

"Just walk in the classroom. They're focused, well-behaved, and I feel they have a vision of their own potential," Trejo said.