The Mettawee School’s Dawn Baker discovered her career path before she was 10. “I grew up in Granville with amazing teachers,” says Baker. “My third grade instructor emphasized hands-on learning, took us on field trips and just made school a positive experience. Teaching became my dream.”
Baker’s commitment to her profession and students led to her 2024 selection as one of two Teachers of the Year honored by the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union (BRSU). Award winners are nominated by their peers and selected by BRSU Principals with the announcement made at the Annual BRSU All Staff Meeting just prior to the start of the new academic year.
“Dawn is a kind and devoted teacher who deserves this award,” says Mettawee School Principal Brooke DeBonis. “Dawn’s classroom is a place for academic and social/emotional learning with high standards for her students in a nurturing environment where each child feels valued.”
DeBonis knows of what she speaks. After graduating from Granville High School, Baker pursued her teaching degree at nearby Castleton University. Her student-teaching assignment placed her at the Mettawee Community School under the tutelage of a then second grade teacher none other than Brooke DeBonis.
“I saw immediately that Dawn was a quiet force who demonstrated her love for teaching every day,” says DeBonis. “Even then, I could see how Dawn cared deeply about her students, had management skills and made learning fun. We were thrilled when she joined our staff.”
Other than two years at The Dorset School, Baker has spent her entire 17 year career at Mettawee. Each year, she quickly builds her third grade classroom into a supportive community, based on kindness, trust, and a positive outlook that creates a constructive learning environment.
Baker’s work with children doesn’t stop when school ends. As a Granville mother of three daughters, she spends her free time attending local sports, camping, and other outdoor offerings in Vermont and New York State.
Baker hopes her students today feel like she did as a third grader. “I want them to think positively and believe in themselves,” says Baker. “And be inspired to follow their dreams.”
(Photo above: Mettawee's Dawn Baker selected as one of 2024's BRSU Teachers of the Year.)