Boasting 20 years of combined teaching experience in the Greensboro area, Karyn and Jade Dickerson are a newly hired teacher couple at Chapel Hill who strive for a hands-on classroom experience.
The pair taught at Grimsley High School for several years, where they met, got married and worked with Chapel Hill principal Charles Blanchard, principal of Grimsley at the time.
Karyn Dickerson teaches English, while Jade Dickerson teaches Spanish. The two have taught together since they met at Grimsley in 2006.
“It’s all I’ve known. We worked together, and then we got married while we were [at Grimsley],” Karyn Dickerson said. “It’s actually quite nice because we can talk about school together, but sometimes it’s difficult because, when you share same the work environment with someone, it can be hard to remember that we have lives outside of teaching.”
The pair are parents to twin boys.
Karyn Dickerson was named the North Carolina Teacher of the Year in 2013, sending her on a state-wide educational tour, something she says has enhanced her ability as a teacher.
“I was exposed to teachers all across North Carolina, but also other educators who were teachers-of-the-year in their states,” she said. “I’ve always viewed myself as a creative teacher, but other people have really great ideas, too, so getting to learn from them has been really beneficial.”
Chapel Hill’s need for both an English and Spanish teacher brought the couple to Chapel Hill, with the help of Blanchard and other former Grimsley staff.
Jade Dickerson teaches Spanish I and Honors Spanish III, while Karyn Dickerson teaches honors- and standard-level English 12 classes.
“We have several friends here who speak very highly of the school,” Jade Dickerson said. “It seemed like the right time to take a leap of faith and see what it was like here.”
Both teachers stressed the value they place on creativity and communication in the classroom.
“I like for my classroom to be more learning and less teaching, so it’s more student centered,” Karyn Dickerson said. “Sometimes I’ll require presentations that don’t use a PowerPoint but have an interactive visual aid or do mock trials and debates in class—just ways to get students to engage actively with the content.”
Jade Dickerson also emphasizes face-to-face interaction in class, relying on textbooks as little as possible.
“I don’t want [students] to think that Spanish is all vocabulary lists and grammar rules,” he said. “Spanish is people. Without people, you can’t communicate.”
Students have expressed approval of the couple’s teaching styles.
“Mr. Dickerson is a really engaging teacher who pushes our class to improve as much as we can,” freshman Nicole Cui said. “He’s really great at interacting with students and helping us in all areas to develop our abilities in Spanish.”
Both studied abroad to obtain their postgraduate degrees—Karyn Dickerson in Scotland at the University of Glasgow and Jade Dickerson at the University of Salamanca in Spain.
“Mrs. Dickerson is always trying to make the material more interesting for us, which I really enjoy,” senior Adam Rodgerson-Bauer said. “There’s never a dull moment.”
Though both have made strides in their respective fields, the pair make sure to stress that, ultimately, they’re a team.
“[Teaching] is very much a part of our life, both on and off campus,” he said. “It’s just who we are, but I can’t imagine being here without her. I wouldn’t be here without her.”
