Dale Kennedy is silly and fun, his Poplar Bluff Middle School students say.
The PBMS Teacher of the Year helps his students understand that learning is both important and something to enjoy, they shared in nomination letters to the selection committee.
“Learning is easier when we can laugh and have fun together,” wrote a fifth-grade student.
Kennedy is one of more than a dozen Outstanding Educators to be recognized by area school districts this school year. These teachers will be featured in the Daily American Republic in an occasional series throughout the summer.
A veteran educator, Kennedy is described by co-workers as a lifelong learner, who designs lessons to both challenge his students and offer diverse learning opportunities. He pushes for a curriculum that will help students meet grade-level expectations and grasp concepts, and he’s always willing to share his skills and knowledge with others, they reported.
“Mr. Kennedy genuinely cares about all of the students in the building, especially those he has in class,” wrote nominator J. Butterfield of the PBMS. “He sets personal goals with the entire class and discusses them. He is setting his students up to succeed well beyond the classroom and become the best version of themselves.”
Kennedy describes himself as having spent all of his 65 years on Earth as a student.
“I am honored by the confidence the middle school staff has placed in me to be their representative for Educator of the Year for 2023,” Kennedy told the selection committee. “However, my logical mind tells me that there must be at least 100 other middle school staff more worthy of this honor. My heart tells me that I am completely fulfilled, satisfied and gratified by the ability to spend my life as an educator.”
A product of Poplar Bluff schools, Kennedy graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 1975. His wife of 47 years, Toni Kenner Kennedy, also graduated with that class and they married in 1976.
Kennedy earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Southeast Missouri State University in 1979, sharing that the news that he was going to become a father helped prompt him to take college more seriously.
His first job was a temporary position at Scott City Elementary School, where Kennedy said he learned to respect his peers.
His career would take him to classrooms in Meadow Heights, Fredericktown and Bonne Terre in Missouri, as well as teaching inner-city youth in Dallas, Texas.
“Working with inner city youth was an ‘eye opener’ for me since I lived a very sheltered life as a child growing up in Poplar Bluff during the 1960s and 1970s,” Kennedy said. “During my tenure in Dallas, I developed a community work experience program for students who have moderate to severe disabilities. The program became a national model. We had students working in competitive employment all over the Dallas metroplex.”
His career in education in Texas continued, eventually completing a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling and the equivalent of a master’s degree in educational administration.
He retired from Texas teaching in 2016 and returned to Poplar Bluff, first to PBHS. Kennedy helped develop a community-based work experience for special education juniors and seniors while there.
He retired from education in 2019, trying other endeavors before returning to the classroom in 2022 as a substitute teacher.
“It was then that I was reminded how much I value working with special education students,” Kennedy said.
He applied for a position at PBMS.
“The culture and climate at the middle school are conducive to student growth and relationship building,” Kennedy said. “I am very fortunate to be surrounded by the best staff I have ever had the privilege to work with and students who will take chances in their studies.”
Students shared that Kennedy likes to teach class outside, an environment that helps them learn better, including projects like doing leaf rubbings and collecting data on car types in the parking lot, and taking field trips to celebrate completing projects.
“Mr. Kennedy is the most patient teacher I have ever had,” wrote a sixth-grade student. “He waits for me to give him the microphone so I can hear. He takes extra time to talk clearly so I understand, and he always gives me time to answer questions.
“When the class is talking, he listens and doesn’t cut us off. He gives us time and doesn’t rush us at all.”
Co-worker Shalyn Copas said she is in awe of Kennedy’s ability to see past the disability to the student.
“Mr. Kennedy’s class is filled with students who need extra time and attention compared to their peers,” Copas said. “Mr. Kennedy is always patient and kind. The amount of laughter that you hear wafting down the hallway from his classroom every so often is nothing short of heartwarming.”
Kennedy is also collaborative and supportive, she said.
A mother shared that Kennedy helped her daughter gain confidence both in herself and her learning.
“(My daughter) has come a long way and I can see a big difference between now and last year,” the mother wrote. “You also don’t see someone as caring as he is.”
Mr. Kennedy is “the best teacher in the world,” a fifth-grade student shared.
“I finally like coming to school because Mr. Kennedy always greets me with a smile and positive attitude,” the student wrote. “I know I have learned a lot in his class. I learned that all fruit starts as a flower, cryptograms make you write faster and become a better reader, and I learned that you can use pizza pies to understand fractions. He teaches us new things every single day.”