Second grade teacher Nathan Rogers poses in his classroom at Shirley Lanham Elementary at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, Oct. 19, 2022. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)

An elementary school teacher at Naval Air Facility Atsugi has died, a spokeswoman for Department of Defense Education Activity’s Pacific region said Tuesday.

Nathan Rogers, a second grade teacher at Shirley Lanham Elementary, was “a loved and respected teacher, colleague, and friend,” according to a letter to students, faculty and parents provided to Stars and Stripes by spokeswoman Miranda Ferguson.

“It is with deep sadness I share with you this morning that one of our Lanham Elementary School teachers, Mr. Rogers, died over the weekend,” principal Jesus Calderon wrote in the letter, a copy of which was posted on the school’s Facebook page. “As a school community, we are grieving this immense loss.”

Calderon did not mention the cause of Rogers’ death and Ferguson in a separate email said she had no further information to share.

Rogers was the acting principal at Lanham in 2020 following the death of the previous principal, Sharon Carter.

That year, the school earned a coveted National Blue Ribbon Schools award from the U.S. Department of Education.

“Being involved with giving students opportunities to do things, not just academics, but outside of the academics and getting to know them in that capacity, I think that definitely made a difference,” Rogers told Stars and Stripes at the time. “Being able to have the chance to work with them almost on a one-on-one basis made a difference.”

The school planned to meet with its students on Tuesday to share Calderon’s sentiments and clarify that crisis counselors would be on site to support the grieving process, according to Calderon’s letter.

NAF Atsugi is about 15 miles west of Yokohama.