What sets The Donoho School apart is our faculty. These individuals provide the living curriculum for Donoho students in and out of the classroom. Each week we will feature a member of the faculty and his or her story. We hope you will enjoy getting to know our faculty members throughout the school year and will stop by each week to read the latest Donoho Story!
Donoho Stories: Mrs. Dawn Huddleston
What do you teach at The Donoho School?
I am the Choral Director at The Donoho School. I teach all choral classes for grades seven through twelve.
What do you love about The Donoho School?
I love the diversity. Our Donoho family is diverse in so many ways, including ethnic heritage, cultural experience, personal strengths and interests. Each stakeholder brings a variety of experience, knowledge, talent, and dreams to our environment. Consequently, we each grow as individuals in all of these areas.
Why do you like teaching at The Donoho School?
The diversity of our family makes every day, even the difficult ones, a more positive experience. Each day is a challenge. I love a challenge. Facing challenge is seldom “fun” during every moment of the process, but the experience as a whole is exhilarating.
What motivated you to become a teacher at The Donoho School?
After twenty-nine years in public education, I needed to reduce the number of hours dedicated to my job in order to fulfill family responsibilities. I just was not ready to completely give up working with students and music. Donoho provided the perfect outlet. My plan was to teach here for four or five years before retiring completely. That was ten years ago. I have loved this job too much to leave.
What is a unique experience, talent or interest that you bring to your classroom to help shape the learning experience of your students?
I have worked with children of all ages and backgrounds. I served as a first grade teacher in a self contained classroom for twenty-one years before taking on the challenge of a high school music program. I feel that these experiences have helped to give me a greater understanding of the importance of educating the whole child.
What sets Donoho students apart from students in other schools?
The typical Donoho student is very driven and goal oriented. It may be true that much of this drive is due to family guidance, but I feel that a great deal of this drive to explore and achieve comes from within.
The Donoho School tagline is “Discover the Difference.” How do you accomplish this in your role at Donoho?
I have often claimed that, if I have a gift, it is in recognizing the gifts of others. It is my desire to use my gift in this atmosphere to help my students discover ability that they did not realize they had.
What do you want your students to gain from having known you?
I hope my students will become more aware of their own worth and the worth of those around them. I frequently challenge my students to “lead by example.” My wish is to model that behavior for them daily and to see evidence that they have adopted that guideline in their everyday lives.
Mrs. Huddleston received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Jacksonville State University. She is certified in Vocal Music Education as well as Elementary Education. She served in the Calhoun County School system as a first grade teacher for twenty-one years and a high school choral director for eight years before coming to Donoho. She has served in her churches as director of choirs of all ages and as supervisor of preschool departments and children’s activities. Mrs. Huddleston is married to Randy Huddleston and together they have one daughter, Brooke Huddleston Gallahar. She resides in Oxford, Alabama, with her four-legged family members – Sydney, Kudzu and Epcot.
