Holly Foster

For Holly Foster, being a Red Knight means to have pride within oneself. She cultivated that pride early in her high school career. She was in the marching band in 10th grade and on the bowling team her senior year. “I have attended all the football games since I was in the band. What fond memories! We had so much fun at the games.” The phrase, “Once a Red Knight, Always A Red Knight” rings true for her because that pride carried on even after she graduated. “We have a lot of pride to be a Red Knight and that’s something you can’t describe.” She graduated from Reading High in 1995 and at the time she planned to be a teacher in Special Education or Biology.

She graduated from three universities. She received her undergraduate degrees from Kutztown University with a Bachelor’s in Special and Elementary Education. She went on to receive her Master’s in Education from Wilkes University, and then a Supervisory certificate in Special Education from Millersville University. She had everything set: She was ready to help students just the way her teachers helped her while she was in school.

Holly had a lot of inspiration when she was in high school here at RHS, and because of that, she wanted to become that inspiration for other students. Mr. Staudt and Mr. Groves were big inspirations while she was attending the Castle of the Hill. “When I was a student here, Mr. Groves was an Anatomy and Physiology teacher. I loved his class! Mr. Staudt was a biology teacher in 10th grade. They were the strongest teachers I had and I had fun memories with them.” Her mother also helped her become the professional she is today. “She was actually a Special Education paraprofessional, so she got into it. She had me talk to a lot of teachers that really pushed me into the Special Education field.”

Holly graduated from Kutztown University in December 2000, then began her teaching career with the Reading School District in January, 2001 in a multi-disability classroom at the Reading Education Center. She temporarily left the Reading School District to work at the Berks County Intermediate Unit, serving as an early intervention teacher and transition house teacher until 2020. That’s when she came back to Reading to do what she is doing now, and she couldn’t be happier! She is now the Transition Coordinator here at RHS, helping students that are in Special Education with their transitions, either transitioning to their lives outside of school or to new settings within high school. She helps students apply to CTC, helps them with their job and college applications, or simply helps them set goals for whatever their future might entail. “I like that I can have an influence–even just a little bit–in being a transition coordinator, helping them get set up with things that they need to be successful in the future.”

As with most people who have found success in their career, Holly knows that there are other avenues she could have gone down where she could have found an equal amount of happiness. “If I wasn't a Transition Coordinator, I would have gone into the medical field. That's what I always said if I wasn't a teacher. I would probably have been a nurse or something like that. I've always had the drive to help others. And wanting to go into a field like that, I could do that.” But the chips falling as they did, she is here at RHS and it’s starting to feel like home to her. “Last year was the first year that I was getting a handle on what I was meant to be here, and I feel that now I can do more as an educator.” This is her home, and her drive to help others has caused this kid from Reading to now help countless other kids who grew up here just like her, and we’re so grateful for that!