She tuned into educators. This Lee’s Summit Teacher of Year hopes to continue legacy

Holly Dahn was taught well and that has empowered her to do the same.

Dahn, vocal music educator at Summit Lakes Middle School, was recently recognized as the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District 2022 Teacher of the Year.

She said several teacher role models in her life drew her to teaching and vocal music. Her grandmothers were both former teachers, and her mother is a retired teacher and administrator.

“Additionally, I have been taught by some amazing educators in my years as a student,” said Dahn, who grew up in the district.

There was Gloria Helmer, the middle school choir director who helped Dahn find “a passion for music and a place where I belonged.”

Her love for music continued to develop in high school, when she was in band with Rosa Adams-Bussard and in choir with Steve Perry.

“All of these influential educators from my personal journey inspired me, encouraged me, made me feel loved and pushed me to continue to grow,” Dahn said. “They taught me that the heart of teaching is relationships and that a teacher can make all the difference in the life of a student.”

A committee selected Dahn from a group of 15 candidates, all recipients of the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Teaching and Teacher of Distinction awards.

“Dahn’s dedication to her students and community go above and beyond and exemplifies why she’s Teacher of the Year,” Chamber member Monte Stull said in a statement when the honor was announced.

“She’s worked to not only create lifelong learning in the classroom, but engaged citizens, making a positive impact on the world around them.”

This upcoming school year will be Dahn’s 19th year as a music educator in the Lee’s Summit school district. She taught seven years at Mason Elementary before moving to Pleasant Lea Middle School in 2011. She has been at Summit Lakes since 2017.

There are big rewards in teaching music, Dahn said.

“Music creates community, belonging, confidence building, cultural awareness, leadership skills, a greater ability to show empathy and a skill base that can last a lifetime,” she said.

Dahn said challenges in teaching music today include keeping music exciting and relevant, retention and recruitment, student insecurities and lack of confidence, and the voice change that often makes students feel frustrated.

“Although these aspects of teaching music can be challenging, I believe there are even larger issues and opportunities for growth in looking at the challenges facing the educational system as a whole,” she said.

Dahn said the pandemic has affected academics and behavior.

“Educators are making strides to help bridge that gap and we are seeing improvements, but it is challenging to feel the weight of needing to fill in educational and behavioral gaps,” she said.

Dahn said social media has created ways for both adults and children to hurt each other with posts and words “that cut deep and are often filled with inaccurate information.

“Social media has given children a tool that is being used as a weapon for bullying, hate, and has opened the door for our children to see and hear things at younger ages,” she said.

“Acts of violence are a threat to our schools. We continue to see a growing need for more mental health resources and ways to keep our kids safe,” Dahn said. “Any one of these topics on their own weighs heavy on the hearts of staff working in the education field, but add them all up and it is a very heavy burden to carry.

“I have found that even on days when my heart and mind are burdened by these issues and I am not sure how to help, I have an opportunity to show up and impact my students’ ability to grow both academically and through teaching life-skills that will help them well into their future.”

Dahn said Lee’s Summit has historically had a well-respected music department.

“One of the greatest contributing factors that is crucial to the success of our music program as a whole is the ability for our students to take both an instrumental class and a choir class in their school day at the secondary level,” Dahn said.

“I was fortunate to grow up in this district where I could participate in both band and choir. I grew exponentially as a person and as a performer due to these programs and I love that as a music educator. I now get to do the same for my students.”

Dahn said the department works as a team to grow students.

“It shows in the high levels of retention and the amount of students that we have entering college or university programs for music performance, music education and music therapy.”