Thurston teacher honored for being an inspiration

Thurston Middle School Spanish teacher Dave Dixon is going out in style.

Dixon, who has taught at Thurston for 25 years, has earned the Laguna Beach Unified School District’s Teacher of the Year award for 2014-15, capping a career defined by helping and inspiring thousands of students, according to school board members and administrators.

They recognized Dixon, 62, who is retiring from teaching in June, at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

“Dave always brings a smile to students’ faces and is a true inspiration and role model,” Thurston Principal Jenny Salberg said at the meeting. “Dave is an outstanding example of what is right in teaching. He is a tireless example of continuous progress.”

The Teacher of the Year honor rotates among the district’s four schools, with the principal selecting the recipient.

Dixon is known for taking time during lunch to help students with a lesson or offer a place to relax and play dominoes. He has taken them on field trips to places such as Olvera Street in Los Angeles.

Students this year created travel advertisements for different areas of Mexico using Prezi, a computer program that allows one to insert photos, text, music and audio.

The Consulate of Mexico in Santa Ana chose the winning presentation, and group members were treated to dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

“This district gives me the green light [to implement ideas],” Dixon said, fighting back tears at the board meeting. “For as much as I feel appreciated, I am appreciative to be here 25 years. This was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Dixon came to Laguna from the East Coast. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his master’s in Spanish from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt., according to a district news release.

Dixon, who lives in San Clemente, said in a phone interview that he would like to be a tour director and will take a training class this summer. Spain and China are on his list.

“I wouldn’t need to move,” Dixon said. “I would fly to where the tour begins.”

Dixon is constantly learning. A few years ago he started speaking Mandarin.

“[Learning Mandarin] gave me more patience with the students in my own Spanish classes,” he was quoted as saying in the release.

Board member William Landsiedel said students were well prepared for high school Spanish after taking Dixon’s class.

“It could be [your] hard work, cleverness, but whatever it is, many students have graduated bilingual because of the foundation you planted,” Landsiedel said.

Dixon mentioned in the release an experience that helped shaped the type of teacher he is. He said a teacher told him he was fine with students retaking a test to improve a grade as long as they made a sincere effort to learn the material.

“His point was that understanding the material mattered more than the score, and it made sense to me,” Dixon said in the release.

Supt. Sherine Smith described Dixon as dedicated, professional, engaging and intelligent.

“He always goes the extra mile,” Smith said in the release. “I have worked with literally hundreds of teachers in my career, and Dave is among the top 1% I have ever worked with. His care and concern for students and learning are unequaled among his peers.”

Trustee Theresa O’Hare added: “Your moral compass is second to none. You have strong character, and those kids will hopefully carry that for the rest of their lives.”