That when I knew I wanted (to teach English).”ĭeMeo graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine with her teaching certificate, meaning she could immediately enter the profession. That’s where it was really codified for me. Then, in college, I (developed) a passion for literature. “I never have been afraid of a challenge,” said DeMeo. Initially, DeMeo assumed she would become a math teacher like her father, but she ended up gravitating towards English and literature, despite the fact that the subjects did not come easily. It just seemed like a logical career for me.” “Just seeing how you got to be someone’s sophomore math teacher, someone’s (school play) director, and you could touch so many kid’s lives. “Growing up, going to his high school, seeing him do his job, it was a real inspiration,” she continued, adding that her father also became her teacher when she attended Coginchaug. “He is probably the biggest role model in my life,” she said. “I am always involved in 100 different things.”īut, in fact, the classroom was always where DeMeo knew she wanted to be right from the start as she watched her father make an impact on young people’s lives. “I knew, for me, I didn’t want to just be in the classroom,” she said, referencing the extracurricular activities she helps to lead.
In addition to her duties as an English teacher and co-educator of the Black and Latino Studies course, DeMeo is also intimately involved in school productions throughout the year, serving as the director of the spring musical each season.
“I didn’t really think I would stay all that long but, now, here I am, 24 years later,” she said, laughing. It could provide a real platform.”ĭeMeo has been in Cheshire since 1999 when she started as a long-term substitute teacher and eventually accepted a full-time teaching position. “I also realized, in listening (to Hayes) that something good could come from the award. “I just realized that (being a teacher) is just so meaningful,” said DeMeo. During her speech, Hayes, who was National Teacher of the Year in 2016 before eventually running for office, spoke about the riots at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, explaining that, as she hid under her desk she began writing, in an almost unconscious manner, a lesson plan, harkening back to her roots as an educator during the traumatic moment. It’s really the ultimate compliment, and it comes from people who know what it takes to do a good job as a teacher.”įinding out in June was especially significant for DeMeo as it coincided with a visit from another Teacher of the Year recipient, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (D-5), who spoke with students in DeMeo’s Black and Latino Studies course. “My colleagues, I see how hard they work, so it’s humbling (to be chosen from amongst them). “I just kept thinking about how I’m in such really good company,” DeMeo continued. “It really feels like (the administrators) see you.” “It just honestly feels like the ultimate acknowledgement,” said DeMeo. As per tradition, DeMeo had been informed about the award before the end of the previous school year and was required to keep silent about the honor until the ceremony in August, 25, during the Cheshire Public School’s annual Convocation Ceremony, DeMeo was announced as the Teacher of the Year. “It was a pretty special Labor Day,” said DeMeo, with a laugh. Now, DeMeo adds her own accomplishment to the family mantle. When Dawn DeMeo was named the 2022 Teacher of the Year, she joined a list of illustrious colleagues who preceded her.īut she also kept a unique family tradition alive.ĭeMeo’s father, John DeMeo, a former math teacher at Coginchaug Regional High School, and her brother, Scott DeMeo, a math teacher at Amity High School, both received teacher of the year honors from their respective districts.
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