January 2015 Top Notch Teachers: Courtney Olig and Ash Dockry
'Dynamic duo' teach math and science as team-teachers
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — This month we don’t have a top notch teacher, we have two.
Courtney Olig and Ash Dockry, sixth-grade teachers from Longfellow Middle School in La Crosse, are similar in so many ways, students have a hard time telling them apart.
It’s a bit of an unusual classroom because this sixth-grade science and math class has two teachers.
“Ash and I team teach,” Olig said.
Olig and Dockry started teaching at Longfellow four years ago. From the beginning, they knew they were meant to teach together.
“We have really good balance with each other and we can almost finish each other’s sentences. We’re always on the same page, and that’s what makes working together really beneficial for the kid,” Dockry said.
Their students said they enjoy coming to class each day.
“They’re real expert in teaching,” former student Lee McGown said. “They’re real fun and funny. I just love these teachers; they’re an inspiration to me.”
“Their teaching style is really different, and it’s really fun. They let you do a lot more things than other teachers usually do,” former student Julia Gasper said.
The dynamic duo said one of the reasons their middle schoolers enjoy class is because the teachers sometimes act like middle schoolers themselves.
“I think that everybody has their own unique style when you’re teaching, and I think ours is definitely loud. We’re loud teachers, we’re boisterous, we like to have a lot of fun,” Olig said.
“I think Ms. Olig and I both really strive to be those normal people. We are goofy and ridiculous and embarrass ourselves all the time, but that just makes our classrooms fun and relatable,” Dockry said.
In addition to teaching Olig and Dockry are track and field and volleyball coaches. They are also the leaders of 6 Degrees, an anti-bullying, anti-drug use acting group that performs all over the city.
News 8 invites you to nominate a teacher that goes above and beyond.
