Cathy Dugovich – First Grade Teacher, First Grade Assessment Lead
Location: Lakeridge Elementary School
Job description: Cathy teaches reading, writing, math, social studies, science, and art. As Assessment Lead, Cathy facilitates a professional learning community for the district’s first grade teachers. They learn about Standards-Based reporting, select assessments, and set benchmarks for students according to state standards.
Typical day: Cathy arrives at 7:30 a.m. to organize daily materials and lesson flipcharts for the ActiveBoard, which is a large interactive presentation panel connected to a computer desktop. “The ActiveBoard helps lessons flow by keeping the kids engaged,” says Cathy. Student leads direct routines such as the morning calendar activity using the ActiveBoard. “Leads aren’t always higher-level students,” says Cathy. “A lead can be someone who might not be very confident, but wants to use the ActiveBoard.” After the morning activities on Tuesdays, the students go to PE, allowing Cathy to plot the rest of the school day. After PE there is Writer’s Workshop. Here again, technology inspires learning enthusiasm. “My students love to share their writing by using the document camera,” says Cathy. “It’s neat because the kids can see peer examples of spelling and word choices, which helps them monitor their own writing.” After recess, they have reading time. Lunch is next, followed by story time and math, then another recess followed by science. The class has just wrapped up a unit on the lifecycle of the butterfly. “It’s a favorite because they get to watch the stages of development from larvae to release,” says Cathy. The release took place in Lakeridge’s butterfly garden last week.
Best part of the job: “I love this age group,” says Cathy. “They are very enthusiastic and loving. I’m a hugger, so in class we end our day with either a goodbye hug or a handshake.” Cathy is amazed by the educational growth in first grade. “The best thing is seeing where they are at the end of the year compared to the beginning. At the end of the year I feel like, ‘We did it!’ I cherish where they are in first grade.”
Something people may not know: After graduating from Hazen High School in Renton, Cathy followed her family’s tradition and went to Boeing. She was a hydraulic tube swedger for several years while going to college at BCC and the UW. Though employed by Boeing, Cathy wanted to become a first grade teacher because, “I loved my own first grade teacher,” she remembers. “I was one of those really shy kids. I wanted to grow up and be as nurturing to other kids as my first grade teacher had been to me.”
Years in district: 21 years. Cathy previously taught for two years in the Bethel School District, and one year in Corona, California.
Outside interests: Cathy and husband Bill—they met as 16 year-olds while interviewing for jobs at the now defunct Renton Cinemas—like to travel. Their most recent trip was to Tahiti. They have two college-age children, Ashley and Nick. Cathy enjoys bike riding, flower gardening, and entertaining family at her Kent home.
