One woman, one classroom, 600 students
Dana Mason has spent every day for 36 years teaching second graders at Brookwood Forest Elementary. That’s about 45,000 hours patiently teaching 7-8 year olds.
Mason, who will retire after this school year, is dedicated to working with struggling readers and gives periodic assessments to help identify children’s individual needs.
“She is a wonderful teacher,” said fellow second grade teacher Cindy Burns, “and she is a wonderful colleague as well. She is always willing to work on committees and work to make our school the best it can be.”
Burns said Mason sets high expectations for her students and then works with them to make sure they are successful.
“She is really gifted at helping kids read fluently and with good expression,” Burns said.
Mason attended Livingston University (now University of West Alabama) before spending a year as coordinator at the West Alabama Mental Health Center School and then a year teaching first grade at Highland Elementary in Meridian, Miss., but ultimately she wanted to be in Birmingham. She earned her master’s degree in early childhood education at UAB and has been teaching at Brookwood Forest since 1977.
But Mason hasn’t just worked with her students over the years; she’s also participated with the staff. For more than 15 years, she helped plan the school’s Veteran’s Day program. She taught songs to students, played films and invited veterans to speak at the program.
“I remember the first year I saw the program I was overcome with emotion and cried,” Burns said. “If you talk to adults who were children at the time of those Veteran’s Day programs, they will all tell you they remember them vividly and most can still recall the words to some of the songs.”
Mason was also on the school’s accreditation committee that worked toward making Brookwood Forest Elementary a Blue Ribbon School. With approximately 18 students a year, Mason has shared her knowledge and given more than 600 students the ability to read and more at Brookwood Forest Elementary.