Clay-Chalkville educator named Teacher of Year

When Dana Jacobson was in the fourth grade, a challenge from her teacher helped change her life forever.

As she was about to sign a conservation pledge regarding littering, the teacher urged Jacobson and her classmates to think about what they were doing.

She emphasized that signing the pledge meant they were promising to make a difference. That simple pledge had a ripple effect on Jacobson’s life because she realized then that she, as one person, had the power to make a difference, she said.

State education officials reaffirmed that calling in May when they named Jacobson, a veteran teacher at Clay-Chalkville High School, the 2016-17 Alabama Teacher of the Year.

Jacobson, who teaches debate, public speaking and ACT preparation classes, said the award validates the choice she made to become a teacher. “Today, I teach high school students and value working with teachers in training because of the power to effect change,” Jacobson said in her application for state Teacher of the Year.

And Jacobson is good at bringing about change, her principal at Clay-Chalkville High School, Michael Lee, said.

“She’s an out-of-the-box thinker. She’s very creative,” Lee said. “She takes students where they are and gets them where they need to go … She’s always willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that students in her class learn. She’s an overachiever.”

Janessa Dunn, one of Jacobson’s former debate students who was co-captain of the debate team at Clay-Chalkville before graduating in 2009, said Jacobson is one of the most scholarly and well-rounded teachers she ever encountered.

“Her innate ability to inspire students to think, to support opinions with facts and philosophy, and to truly enjoy the art of debate is truly remarkable and inspiring,” Dunn wrote in a recommendation letter. “I am extremely confident that Ms. Jacobson will continue to empower students to achieve their educational and professional goals by praising each student’s strengths, refining areas of growth and cultivating the untapped potential that students may not know they possess.”

Jacobson sponsors the Social Justice Club and the Poetry Club at Clay-Chalkville. She has directed the Aspire Academy, an initiative to keep students from dropping out of school, and previously developed curriculum for the school’s remediation course for the state graduation exam.

Jacobson said she tries to allow students to design their own meaningful learning experiences, acting as a facilitator rather than as a lecturer. She wants to equip each student with the strategies they need to become independent lifelong learners, and those strategies are different for different children. “I try to uncover each student’s story, the key to rapport and meaningful learning,” she said.

Jacobson is not only good with students; she’s a teacher of teachers, Lee said.

“She’s always willing to help anybody that’s asking — very collaborative with her colleagues,” he said.

She’s the go-to person at Clay-Chalkville High when it comes to integrating technology into instruction, Lee said. This past year, she has been teaching other teachers how to lead online classes. She also has led professional development classes for teachers across Jefferson County, the state and even at the national level. And she mentors new teachers and supervises student teachers.

Jacobson has been at Clay-Chalkville since 1999 and has almost 24 years of total teaching experience, including 7½ years she taught in Japan. She lives in Vestavia Hills.