Today’s #HCSHeroes Spotlight is Zack Dolberry, a physical education teacher at Ooltewah Elementary and Wallace A. Smith Elementary. When a nearby school needed an additional related arts teacher, Coach Dolberry stepped up to the plate to serve more students in his Learning Community.
“His winning attitude and prioritization of team over self shines through,” said Clarie Stockman, head of related arts for the district. “We're glad that Mr. Dolberry's heroic attitude will now be shared with students at two Hamilton County elementary schools every week and that he is part of our team. Thank you, Coach Dolberry for saving the day!”
Being a P.E. teacher during a pandemic has been especially challenging as Coach Dolberry has had to navigate how to keep his students active in a virtual environment.
“I began a YouTube channel ‘Coach D OES’ last March to share workouts and activities for students to do at home,” said Coach Dolberry. “Through that channel began a series called ‘Rap Reads’ where I rap children's books in an effort to promote reading, but also bring a smile to student and parent faces and connect in a unique way.”
In addition to creating obstacles with virtual learning, COVID-19 has also impacted how P.E. classes operate in person to ensure the safety of students. “I know myself and my other colleagues have all strived to make face to face feel as normal as possible. Getting kids up and active or creating mini masterpieces in art allows them to forget for a moment about what is going on in the world and be kids again.”
Dolberry adds, “If I am to be totally honest, kids have rolled with the changes much better than most adults I know and their ability to show up with a positive attitude pushes me to do the same.”
The efforts of our teachers and staff are truly heroic, and we are proud to have people like Coach Dolberry on our team to support our students!
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