2019 Dayton Magazine is now proud to honor some of the amazing teachers in the Miami Valley as Outstanding Educators!
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DAYTON MAGAZINE . August/September 2019
Terra Spears Northmont Middle School WEB (Where Everybody Belongs)
N
orthmont Middle School’s Terra Spears says that what she most enjoys about her job is being able to be the person she needed while growing up. “I come from a background of trauma, inequity, no parents, failing grades in middle school. So to be able to be the person that I needed is just, it gives me wings,” she says. Spears is able to provide that support through the school’s WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) program. Created by the Boomerang Project, WEB is a middle school orientation and transition program that builds connections between seventh and eighth graders and assists students in building their confidence and leadership skills. “Every year I recruit seventh graders who are natural leaders, who are good students, who are kind and helpful and their teachers recommend them for my class (for the following year),” she says. “(The next year) … my eighth grade leaders are paired with two or three (other) group leaders with about 13 to 15 seventh graders. They do activities and they get to know each other and then they stay with those seventh graders throughout the entire year and they meet with them.” In addition to meeting with their seventh graders, the eighth grade leaders meet regularly with Spears for a leadership class. “We’ll practice the activities that they’re going to do with their seventh graders but most of it is self-reflection and self-growth. Who do I believe myself to be? What is my path in life? What makes me happy? What doesn’t make me happy? Just a lot of circle discussions, and social, emotional leaning opportunities,” she says. But that’s just one of Spears’ many responsibilities. She also developed and leads a new student and parent program, as the school receives, on average, one to two new students a week. She introduces them to their teachers, gets them set up with their school iPads, explains the paperwork and
provides information on any community resources the family may need. “I give them my information and I reach out periodically and say, ‘Is there anything that we can do to help you?’” she says. Spears also monitors the school’s Catch Up Café, which lets students work on late or missing homework for up to 70 credit during lunch; does restorative justice with troubled students, which encourages them to think about what they’ve done, its impact and what they would do next time; and leads professional development activities
that address equity with her colleagues. While Spears has many responsibilities she says she loves them all because of the impact they have on students. “I have this saying and I just recently, in the last maybe two years, have been able to really implement it with fidelity and it is, ‘I cannot help you until you are ready.’ And to see when a kid is ready to make changes in their life it is the most powerful thing. It’s just powerful to see a kid turn around,” she says. CORINNE MINARD DAYTON MAGAZINE . August/September 2019
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Sheena Burns Esther Dennis Middle School at Grafton Kennedy English language arts
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DAYTON MAGAZINE . August/September 2019
S
heena Burns teaches school. She also teaches life. Bu r ns, a si x t h g rade Eng l ish language arts teacher at Esther Dennis Middle School at Grafton Kennedy in the Northridge Local School District, loves to provide her students with experiences outside of what they would normally be able to experience. And that’s not much for many of her students. The poverty rate in the community hovers around 90, some students wear the same clothes to school every day and 100 of the students get free and reducedprice lunches. But students in Burns’s classes experience many of the same adventures as those children in financially secure homes. One of those experiences is attending plays. Burns is able to secure scholarships for her students so they can attend events at the Victoria Theatre three times a year. Another experience Burns provides students is the ability to attend one of Tim Horton’s Foundation Camps. The camp
provides free transportation and free room and board to support children from disadvantaged circumstances between the ages of 12 to 16. There they learn skills like leadership, resilience and responsibility, empowering them to believe in their own potential and change their stories for the better, according to Tim Horton’s website. One of the students was amazed by what it looked like outside of Dayton, says Burns. “He had never been outside of the city limits.” On another visit the student was able to attend a celebration where steak was served. “That kid was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve only seen steak on TV. So this is what steak is!’” says Burns. She enjoys that she gets to be part of a village that is raising kids. “It’s all about the kids, seeing the smiles on their faces and hearing, ‘Gosh, I’ve never done this before. This is so cool!’” she says. “That just warms my heart.” It’s also her dream job. Burns says her earliest memories are of playing games and pretending to be a schoolteacher. That may
be because her maternal grandfather was a principal in Middletown where she grew up. “I’m sure that kind of maybe played a role in it.” While teaching may be part of her DNA, teaching children English and writing is part of her passion. Books, she says, can take students to places they may never be able to visit physically and even experience the perspective of others. That is important because it teaches her students how to communicate. “I feel like that is my way of helping my kids kind of learn to express themselves,” she says. Burns also isn’t afraid to show her students that she is still learning. A co-founder of the school’s Green Thumb Club, Burns admits her strong suit is not gardening. “I’m actually learning with the kids which is really cool and fun for them,” she says. It shows students that even though she earned college degrees and now works as a teacher she continues to be a lifelong learner. “I think it’s a good example for the kids.” ERIC SPANGLER
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Judi MacLeod Chaminade Julienne Special education
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udi MacLeod has never strayed too far from Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School in her career. After graduating from the school in 1988 she went on to pursue her degree in elementary special education from the University of Dayton. She spent a few years teaching in Eaton and for Dayton Public Schools before an opportunity opened up at her high school alma mater in the summer of 1999. When Chaminade Julienne was beginning to build its Cuvilly special education program it needed a teacher to lead it. Someone called MacLeod to let her know, leading to her applying and quickly getting the job. MacLeod started with three students in a little classroom and a blank slate upon which to create an inclusive program that would become the Cuvilly department. Twenty years later she now oversees a department of three staff members, two classrooms, three offices and 110 students. But MacLeod is more than her role— she’s a vital part of the Chaminade Julienne family. As one nomination recommend-
ing her for one of Dayton’s Best Educators put it, “CJ would not be CJ without Judi.” She serves as the school’s bowling coach, moderates the sign language performance group Hands in Harmony, works with the Scouts of America and organizes social events for her special education students. That last aspect is what really drives MacLeod’s passion. She first worked with children and adolescents with special needs when she was just a kid herself. When she was in Girl Scouts a visiting instructor taught her troop sign language, which started her on the path to where she is today. “From there, while I was in Girl Scouts, I got opportunities to work with troops that were severely special ed,” she recalls. “I was a peer mentor as well as a leader… kind of like a camp counselor working with kids with special needs. I did that for three or four years and I loved every minute of it.” That led to babysitting children with special needs and volunteering when she was in high school. By the time she was enrolled at the University of Dayton
her love of helping special needs children and her family’s history in teaching came together in the perfect way. When she returned to Chaminade Julienne she brought both the passion formed in her youth and the experience she had built up since graduating. Ever since, she’s provided a positive environment at school for her students as well as opportunities to grow within and beyond Chaminade Julienne. By never putting preconceived limitations on students with special needs she encourages and challenges them to achieve great things like graduating from college, holding meaningful careers and creating happy, fulfilling lives for themselves. “It’s just an amazing opportunity as a professional,” she says. “It is the best job in the whole wide world. “I wake up every morning and I’m excited to go to school and I go to bed and I can’t wait get up the next morning to go back to school.” KEVIN MICHELL
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