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A hardworking, “just-let-me-do-my-job” type like Jason Dinwiddie, a communication skills teacher at Hazelwood East High School, can only escape the spotlight for so long. Dinwiddie is the district’s Teacher of the Year (TOY) for 2008.

“The whole thing has been a little overwhelming,” he said. “I expected congratulations and handshakes from my students but the best part has been the reaction from students I don’t know. During my lunch duty, students I have very little interaction with have been coming up to me and congratulating me.”

The year 2002 symbolized a teaching torch passing – Jason Dinwiddie started teaching the same year that his father Les, retired from teaching.

“The wild thing was that I taught the same classes that year that he taught – modern media, English literature and yearbook,” Dinwiddie said.

He started working as a permanent substitute teacher for a year and he did well enough to get offered a teaching position the following school year. This year, Dinwiddie teaches English Two or more commonly known as English 10. He also works in the Options program, which is an alternative education set up.

“All of us in the Hazelwood East Communication Skills department are so excited for Jason,” said Jill Farrar, communication skills department chairperson at Hazelwood East High School. “He is so very, very deserving of this award. The award is a testament to his hard work, late hours, dedication to students, and outstanding teaching skills. There really is no one more deserving of such an honor.”

“When they told me Jason was our building teacher of the year, the first thing that came to mind was that he would compete well,” said Hazelwood East principal Mark Martin. “He presents himself well. He looks so young but he’s very knowledgeable about his content area. He builds a rapport with his students and he’s enthusiastic for his profession. I wasn’t surprised that he won district Teacher of the Year; he certainly deserves it.”

When he is not teaching, Dinwiddie has a variety of avocations to keep him busy. Coming from a print journalism background, he is an avid photographer. One of his specialties is wildlife photography, especially birds.

“I have photos of blue herons, migrating geese and American Bald Eagles,” he said. “I also play guitar and mandolin and I’ve worked with the drama department in the orchestra pit.”

Because of his musical contributions, Dinwiddie is also involved with the Critics and Awards Program (Cappies,) a program for recognizing, celebrating and providing learning experiences for high school journalism students and teenage playwrights.

“When Debbie Ladd brought me in, she asked me if I would like to be part of the Cappies. I am now a Cappies program mentor at East. We discuss and edit reviews,” Dinwiddie said. Ladd is the school’s former theatre director. She retired last year.

Dinwiddie and his wife, Amber, have been married for 12 years. They have one daughter.

Professionally, Dinwiddie wants to branch out at East.

“One of the things I noticed but I had not been able to pursue is involvement with our school’s PTA, so I look forward to doing that,” he said.

Through his involvement in the Florissant Kiwanis Club, Dinwiddie has been able to get the school, particularly its key club, involved in adding community service efforts for the students. Students need at least 50 community service hours before they are able to graduate.

Another one of Dinwiddie’s contributions is the school’s recycling club, which meets weekly and has at least 10 students participating. They go around to every classroom, collecting papers and other recycled items from staff members.

This year marks the third time in the last four years that Hazelwood’s Teacher of the Year has come from Hazelwood East High School. Vocal music teacher Robert Swingler and math teacher Robin Gray are past recipients.

“We hold each other to such a high standard here,” Dinwiddie said of the school’s TOY success rate. “We lift each other up. The amount of effort everyone puts into their job is astounding.”

Dinwiddie was honored for his achievement at the district’s annual PTA Founders’ Day dinner, which was held in the Hazelwood Central High School Field House, Thursday, February 7. There is a Founders’ Day selection committee composed of administrators, teachers, principals, coordinators, HNEA and PTA members and a high school senior. The committee interviews each candidate and after the interview, panel members receive ballots with candidate names and they choose one confidentially. After each vote is counted, the candidate with the most votes is the district Teacher of the Year.
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