Academic Coach Mary Lou Dixon Honored at State

Academic Coach, Mary Lou Dixon was recently honored by the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) as a finalist for the 2011 Academic Coach of the Year. Strong academic coaches are an essential part of providing a positive experience for Indiana's students, and the IASP is excited to recognize the contributions of devoted coaches across the state.

Mary Lou, coach for Wawasee High School, was nominated by Elaine Bokhart, coach for Wawasee Middle School and Doug and Heidi Heinisch, parents.

Mary Lou's many accomplishments include, but is not limited to:

• Jr Academic Coach 7 years
• Sr Academic Coach 5 years
• 5 time Academic Super Bowl State Finalist
• 2011 Academic Super Bowl Social Studies State Champion

Winning is not the primary reason Mary Lou works with students at this level. Since retirement, she has missed teaching and encouraging young people to achieve at their highest level. She also enjoys history and wants to share her love of the subjects with the students. The amount of time her students spend studying is astronomical. They meet after school several times a week, and on Saturdays she opens her home so the team can study, have lunch together, and build a team camaraderie that endures. Mrs. Dixon also uses her time to solicit funds from both the school and community to provide the students with the materials they need to study. Mrs. Dixon feeds the students' minds with history and builds self esteem along the way, just as she did for those of us that were privileged to have her as a middle school teacher many years ago. Academic Super Bowl enriches the lives of students that want to push themselves academically, and Mary Lou Dixon is there to help them accomplish their goals.

Congratulations Mary Lou!