(Editor’s note: Meet one of the five finalists for Columbia County’s Board of Education Teacher of the Year Award.)
For Allison Dixon, teaching has always been the dream job because it allows her to make a difference in the lives of local children.
Inspired by her kindergarten teacher’s passion while attending National Hills Elementary, Dixon said she aspires to be just as supportive and encouraging to her own students.
“I knew because she loved us all as though we were her own children, so that’s what got me into teaching,” Dixon said. “It just felt right and it felt like this is where I needed to be.”
Recently announced as a Columbia County Teacher of the Year finalist, Dixon has spent nearly half of her life and the entirety of her teaching career bettering the lives of students in Columbia County schools. She currently teaches third grade English language arts and social studies at Greenbrier Elementary School.
“I like to help kids make connections between what we’re reading and real life or other books that they’re reading,” she said.
Referencing how she incorporated Eve Bunting’s “Pop’s Bridge,” a story about the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, and connected it with images of the extensive California inspiration, Dixon said her teaching is all about taking ideas and showing students how they are transferred into people’s day-to-day lives.
“It’s a fictional story, but she made it up about events in real life,” said Dixon. “So when we’re reading the story, I then show them pictures of myself walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. They need to see that it doesn’t just exist in a book – it’s real life.”
She also tries to integrate technology into her lesson plans to highlight the many functions computers can serve in an academic setting – such as creating a powerpoint presentation of information to share with the class.
“Using technology to express themselves and also to be producers, that you’re creating something and not just using a computer to consume information,” she said.
Describing her students as “little sponges soaking up knowledge,” Dixon said believes teachers need to have a diverse and well rounded background in order to meet the educational needs of all children. Her personal viewpoints were expanded through study abroad visits to primary schools in New Zealand and Australia.
Along with her experience in studying abroad, Dixon also earned a Bachelor of Science in early education from Augusta University, and holds a Master of Education in foundations of education from Troy State University.
In addition to her teaching, Dixon has also served a Building Coordinator for Augusta University for over a decade, and is presently serving on Greenbrier’s leadership team, as well as Columbia County School District’s NexGen Cyber Curriculum Development Committee.
Outside of school settings, she can also be found serving as head coach of a youth swim team since 2001, and fulfilling a spiritual leadership role at Warren Baptist Church’s children’s ministry on Sunday mornings, where Dixon has repeatedly volunteered since high school.
“I just grew up working with children…I spent 11 years working with babies before moving up to second graders in Sunday school,” she said. “And my mom started coaching when I was in high school, so I became her assistant. It was just natural. From there, I ended up taking over the team.”
Regularly attending student soccer games, dance recitals, musicals and plays, Dixon said she believes in supporting her students both inside and outside the classroom to communicate their unique importance, despite the grades being earned.
“I’ve done a lot for children in the area; I just think it’s important to have role models, and I think every kid needs to have something they’re good at,” she said. “Wherever the kids invite me, I will show up because it helps in making those connections, and being able to talk to them about things they are doing and relating it to lessons in school.”
After working within the CSRA for several years and spending much of her free time continually supporting community efforts for the sake of student improvement, Dixon said she was surprised at the announcement of her achievement in becoming one of Columbia County’s top five teacher finalists.
“I was very shocked, and humbled and honored,” she said. “I feel like I work with amazing educators…I feel like I truly teach among some of the very best, not only in the state but in the nation.”
If chosen as the school district’s Teacher of the Year, Dixon said she would aim to continue work to improve the experience of new and aspiring teachers.
“I do think, as teachers, we have a responsibility to help lead and guide others into the profession,” she said. “I’ve opened my classroom countless times to student teachers or high school teachers that are looking to enter into the profession.”
However, for the time being, the most important lesson Dixon believes in imparting to students is instilling confidence and to persevere through hard learning obstacles.
“It’s my hope that every child finds at least one teacher who truly motivates and inspires them to be their very best,” she said. “So they can achieve all that they were meant to achieve in life.”
The Teacher of Year award winner will be announced at the district’s annual Teacher of the Year banquet on Oct. 4. The event’s live stream will begin at 6:30 p.m. online at the Columbia County School District’s official website.
