 Jennifer
Dawson of Lost Mountain Middle School
Named 2006-2007 Cobb County Teacher of the Year
The Cobb County School District is proud to announce Ms.
Jennifer Dawson of Lost Mountain Middle School as the
2006-2007 District Teacher of the Year. Superintendent Fred
Sanderson and Lost Mountain Principal Terry Poor joined
Dawson’s parents and a theater full of her sixth grade
students at a surprise assembly at the school.
Dawson began teaching sixth grade Social Studies and Language
Arts at Lost Mountain in 2000. In her application for teacher
of the year she wrote that teaching “found her,” and began
growing her passion for the profession while working as a
youth minister with children of Hmong refugees. After learning
that the grant funding her position was expiring, Dawson
sought another means of working with children.
After passing the PRAXIS test in 2000, she was hired
provisionally at Lost Mountain to teach language arts while
she worked on attaining her certification. Beginning with the
2000-2001 school year, Dawson drove more than 70 miles per
day, taught a full schedule of classes and worked on her
certification in night courses at Mercer. Dawson calls
2000-2001 “the hardest and most enlightening year of my life.”
Dawson feels that her uncommon path to the classroom has made
her “the antithesis of traditional” when it comes to her
teaching style. “From middle school through graduate school,
school was difficult for me,” she said. “Because of my own
abilities and learning difficulties, I know that each and
every student has unique potential just waiting to be tapped.”
Dawson focuses on finding ways to make Social Studies
applicable to middle school students, whether the subject is
civics or geography. “From dollar stores, to quirky news
stories, to historical dates, I relish finding ways to engage
and excite students in a subject many before associated with
‘old dead people’ or endless worksheets,” she said. “Words
can’t adequately express how much I love my job. Inspiring
students to engage critically and dually in the wider world is
indescribable.”
Outside the classroom, Dawson actively pursues learning
opportunities she can bring back to her students at Lost
Mountain. She was selected for the 2005 Goethe Institute
Transatlantic Outreach Fellowship, which took her to Germany
to study with other social studies educators. She has
presented workshops at the Georgia Council for Social Studies
annual conference for the past three summers and was selected
by the District to attend History Alive! Coach training in San
Diego, California last July. Additionally, Dawson serves as
Relay for Life team captain at Lost Mountain and sponsors the
Helping Hands community service club.
“I was impressed when I read what she had written about
teaching profession finding her,” said Superintendent
Sanderson. “And once it did, she’s really made the most of it.
Her talent and passion combined make her a great
representative for the outstanding teachers we have here in
Cobb County.”
Dawson attended undergraduate studies at Mercer University,
earned a Master’s degree from the Candler School of Theology
at Emory University in 1999, and attained her teaching
certification through Mercer in 2004.
Lost Mountain Principal Terry Poor said he is fortunate to
have a teacher like Dawson on his staff: “She brings
enthusiasm, a wealth of knowledge about her content area and a
real ability to make social studies relevant to students. She
relates to the kids extremely well, gets their interest and
they recognize that she really cares about them. She’s not
only an outstanding teacher, but an outstanding person.”
The Cobb County School District began recognizing Teachers of
the Year for all three levels in 2004, providing an
opportunity to recognize more than one outstanding educator
and allowing the honorees to showcase the unique talents and
skills needed at each academic level.
Each school chooses its own Teacher of the Year who is, in
turn, nominated for the district-wide honor. Each application
is read and rated independently by a committee of
administrators.
The highest-rated applicants from elementary, middle, and high
schools become the Teachers of
the Year.
The District Teacher of the Year is chosen from these three
honorees. A committee selects the overall winner based on
written applications and interviews with the candidates.
Click
here to download a Hi-Res Promotional Image if Jennifer Dawson
in CMYK Format
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