WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Chris Dickey has been teaching for five years at Elkhorn Village Elementary School in West Sacramento and he's ABC10's Teacher of the Month for May 2021.
ABC10 asked Chris a few more questions about her career in teaching.
Q: How long have you been teaching?
This is my ninth year teaching overall. After I graduated, I moved abroad to Indonesia and taught Middle School here for four years, and this is my fifth year here teaching at Elkhorn.
Q: Who was your favorite teacher growing up?
I had a lot of great teachers growing up, but two from my middle school days really stick out. Mr. Watson and Mr. Kopp really showed me they cared about me way more than just my performance in the classroom. I was an awkward kid and they both would give advice and spend their time getting to know me as a person, and I always wanted to be that kind of teacher.
Q: What is your favorite student success story?
There are so many! I think in general it’s the students who come to me feeling like they can’t keep up academically or they are already feeling a negative attitude towards school. I try and make sure we always celebrate achievements, no matter how small! I want learning to be fun, and it should be! When I hear from teachers that those students are blossoming as they get older, that means everything to me.
Q: Advice for future teachers?
Love what you do and carry that passion with you every day. You will never be bored teaching, every day is always something new and exciting. I would also say that when you are first starting out, lean on the teachers and staff that are already around you. I am not sure I would have made it through those first two years without the support of the wonderful teachers here at Elkhorn, especially my grade level partners in third grade.
Q: Advice for parents?
Stay connected with your child's teacher. You both want what is best for your student, so work together with their teacher to make sure everyone is doing all they can. Also, don’t just ask your child, “how was your day.” Really sit with them and have them talk about what happened during the day. What did they learn that day? Was something a challenge? How did they preserve through that challenge? What was something fun that happened? Make simple questions like that part of your daily routine.
Q: Anything else I would like to add:
I feel truly humbled by all of this, I don’t feel like I do anything special, I just do the best I can. I want to thank all the amazing staff at Elkhorn Village and all the support they have given me over the last five years. Especially my grade level partners, Eimi and Melissa. Thank you for everything! Lastly, I want to thank my amazing wife Jessy and our two beautiful children Adam and Lyla for all the joy they bring into my life.
Congratulations again to our May 2021 Teacher of the Month, Chris Dickey!
Teacher of the Month/Teacher of the Year is ABC10’s way of honoring exemplary teachers in our community and say ‘thank you’ for their hard work. ABC10 viewers, students, principals, parents, family and friends nominate educators they feel deserve this title. Each month Sac State selects a teacher out of this pool of nominees to be honored as ‘Teacher of the Month’, receiving a $1,000 dollar check from SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, a profile story on ABC10 and ABC10.com, and other prizes!
Plus, all nominees are put in the running for Esquire IMAX and ABC10’s ‘Teacher of the Year’ winning an additional $5,000 dollars courtesy of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union. The ‘Teacher of the Year’ ceremony is held every spring.
To nominate a teacher you think is deserving and see all of ABC10’s Teacher of the Month nominees, visit: /features/teacher-of-the-month