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Reading teacher plays key role at Dobbins
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Poland resident Nick Henery is the new reading teacher for first and second-graders at Dobbins Elementary. He graduated from Poland Seminary High School in 2004.
By SHAIYLA HAKEEM
What better way to give back to your community than to help young Poland students learn to read?
Nick Henery is new to the Dobbins Elementary faculty roster this year, He is the first and second-grade reading intervention teacher.
Henery graduated from Poland Seminary High School in 2004 and obtained a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Youngstown State University. This is his first year as full-time faculty member.
His career as an educator was something that grew on Henery throughout his academic journey. He said he was inspired to be a teacher from spending a lot of time in school and with his teachers. He chose to focus on reading because it is a tool that will be used forever.
“Reading is very important and I want to be able to help the kids and build a foundation they can take with them for the rest of their education,” Henery said.
Henery admits to never being a fan of using only books and the board to teach. He uses more creative avenues to gain his students’ attention. His classes consists of exercises that enhance reading comprehension, fluency and decoding words and passages.
“I try to make it as interactive and hands-on as possible,” Henery explained. “I think that when students are interested, learning really occurs and that is the most important thing.”
In addition to teaching at Dobbins, Henery coaches the boys sixth-grade intramural basketball team at McKinley Elementary. Last year, he coached the fifth-graders. Since basketball isn’t offered in the school system until seventh-grade, the intramural team is a good way to train and condition students on techniques and fundamentals of the game.
Henery, 24, said he plans to teach in Poland for a long time. His long-term goal is to eventually progress to an administrative level.
“I’m having a great time. This is a great building and I am very lucky,” Henery said. “I would love to stay here as long as I can.”