SPOTLIGHT ON A MCCS STAR

This month the MCCS Star is Debra Dickinson, a fourth grade teacher at Washington Academy.

Ms. Debra Dickinson is originally from Thomasville, Alabama. She has been married to her high school sweetheart, Mr. Milton Dickinson, for the past twenty-eight years. They have two children, Courtney and Brandie Dickinson, both of whom are graduates of Mount Clemens High School.

Mrs. Dickinson is the fourth oldest of eleven children. Her ten sisters and brothers reside in various parts of the United States and other countries. She is blessed to have both parents alive today and residing in Alabama. Although her family is spread apart, they are a very close-knit family and always look forward to their family reunion. Having a strong family foundation is one of the things that Mrs. Dickinson holds dear to her heart

Mrs. Dickinson is a graduate of Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Elementary Education. Currently, Mrs. Dickinson is pursuing a Masters Degree in Education at Wayne State University. She began her teaching career in Europe for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DODDS) when she and her husband resided in Germany. Mrs. Dickinson states, "This was a great experience to be able to teach in a foreign county to American students. Being able to teach in this manner afforded me many travel opportunities." She can remember traveling to Hitler's look-out site that he used during WWII. "This was quite an experience going up and around mountains for at least an hour to reach the site and not being able to see people and land below without binoculars." While in the mountains she and her family also had the opportunity to visit the Salt Mines, where they rode in a coal mining train to view how the Germans mined salt. She was also able to visit a diamond factory in Belgium where she saw many beautiful diamonds and was exposed to a class on the five "C's". She also visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France where she and her family had the opportunity to go to the top of the structure. They were also able to walk through the streets, visit different street shops, eat scones, croissants, and drink tea. They also had the opportunity to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. All of these great experiences give Mrs. Dickinson the first hand experience and knowledge that she can share with her students.

After the experience of living overseas, Mrs. Dickinson and her family moved to Michigan where they resided at Selfridge Air National Guard Base as part of Mr. Dickinson's military commitment. Mrs. Dickinson began working as a substitute Teacher for both the Mount Clemens Community Schools and the Anchor Bay School District. In January 1992, Mrs. Dickinson was hired fulltime at Mount Clemens Community Schools as the Librarian. After one year she accepted the position as the fourth grade Teacher at Macomb Elementary. She taught in that position until 1994. She then began her career as the fourth grade Teacher at Washington Elementary. Each morning, Mrs. Dickinson begins her day with their class motto: "I am the best, therefore, I will do my best in all things". She came up with this motto to promote good self-esteem in her students. Mrs. Dickinson is a firm believer that warfare begins in the mind, and if you can plant a good seed in the mind then you can achieve the impossible.

In her spare time, Mrs. Dickinson loves to attend church, read the Bible, walk through the mall exercise, listen to gospel and jazz music, travel and spend quality time with her husband and five grand children. She currently serves as the Sunday School Superintendent, New Members ' Class Substitute Teacher and game room attendant for the Greater Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in Mount Clemens under the direction of Pastor Dr. Tyrone B. Martin.

Mrs. Dickinson's husband has been a great support for the students, he often comes by and brings goodies to her class for the students' great work and behavior. When he comes by the students always great him in unison; "Hi Mr. Dickinson".

Since teaching, Debra has received numerous honors and awards. To her credit, she was selected as "Teacher of the Year" for Washington Academy for the 2004-05 school year. She was also selected as "Who' s Who Among America's Teachers" in 2004-05. "Being recognized for teaching is a blessing and an honor from God" that Mrs. Dickinson does not take lightly.