William J. Dodich

1. Father to Frank and Brooke. 2. Husband to Norma 3. Teacher and Coach at Knollwood Elementary School 👨🏼‍🏫

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

@erinreid5454 That spinning finish! 🔥

[Danny Steele @SteeleThoughts]

When I was a high school principal, I interviewed a teacher named Jake Huggins. He seemed like a good candidate—friendly, experienced, and thoughtful. I believed he could be a solid addition to our faculty. But any lingering doubt disappeared when he answered one particular question. It has always been my favorite.

I asked him, “Jake, in every school in America, you can place teachers on a continuum. On one end are those who don’t seem to want to be there. They’re always complaining. Their colleagues wonder why they haven’t retired yet. They drain the energy of the building. But on the other end are teachers who are excited to come to work. They love their students. They value their colleagues. They lift the spirits of everyone around them. When graduates come back, these are the teachers they want to see.

So Jake… what’s the difference between these two teachers? What is the X factor? Because that’s what we’re looking for.”

Most teachers answer that question by talking about passion. Or purpose. Or the desire to make a difference rather than just earn a paycheck. Those are good answers. But Jake said something different—something I’ve never forgotten.

He said, “I think almost every teacher starts out idealistic. They love kids. They want to change the world. But after a few years, you hit a wall. You realize how hard this job really is. There are endless papers to grade. Some students make it incredibly challenging to teach. And parents aren’t always supportive.

Some teachers never move past that reality check. They burn out. But others do. They keep their sense of purpose in spite of the challenges. The work is hard, but they remain convinced it matters. Some students are difficult, but they know those students need someone who refuses to give up on them. They face adversity, but they don’t let it steal their passion. Those are the teachers who make a difference year after year.”

We hired Jake.

A few years later he was named the school’s Teacher of the Year.

So today, I salute Jake—and every educator who has faced that “reality check” and chosen to keep going. The ones who remember their whyon the hard days. The ones who refuse to let frustration turn into cynicism. The ones who continue to believe, even when the work is exhausting.

Because those are the teachers who change lives.
And they do it… year after year.

Cheers,

Danny

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

The Lady Knights gutted out another win for the St Pete’s Championship Tournament Game! Every round we played was a tight competitive grind and the girls stuck to their game and came out with the win! Congrats to Lily Halpern for making All Tourney team and Cate Zimmerer for MVP

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

Discovering the rules for Multiplying Integers through #BuildingThinkingClassrooms

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

last day at Stokes was a wet one but a memorable one! See you next year Stokes!

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

3rd day of Stokes was a success! Possibly our best group of Geocachers for boys and girls. More White House duty winners. Thursday Night Live skits had me crying 😂 Last days gonna be a wet one.

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

Day 2 of Stokes. Today the kids taught me how to take a 0.5 selfie. Great memories made today!

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

First day of Stokes in the books! The weather was amazing, lots of excitement, and beautiful views to take in for our 7th grade trip!

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

Big win against Rumson today 2–1! Quinn with a late goal in the 1st half to tie it up and Avery Bellincampi with the game winner in the final 3 minutes of the game. Always a great game when we play our rivals but soon to be teammates.

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

A few of the boys from the 6th grade Fours got to team up for todays GCF/LCM scavenger hunt. Not a bad view of the courtyard either

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

My 6th grade ONES working on the GCF/LCM word problem scavenger hunt today.

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

The boys won big today against Shrewsbury. Quinn Gaun and Ryan Liss both had 2 goals leading the charge for the Knights!

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

What makes word problems more fun? Getting out of our seats and decoding a secret message in a scavenger hunt. This was the first of many scavenger hunts for the 6th graders this year. #FHLeads

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

The finished project from all my 6th and 7th Graders. Clearly they had a lot of fun this summer sleeping in and going to the beach! #Back2School
#FHLeads

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

Summer Data Projects to start the year. The kids loved getting up out of their seats, getting to know each other and me, and being statisticians for a couple days. #FHLeads

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

@carolynlundy61 @sjvcoach @SJVLadyLancers @NJShoreshots17u @PatrickLeary36 @TinyGreenNBS @traceysabino13 @PGHNewJersey Nice work kid! So happy to see you out there doing what you love. Keep up the good work

[Ellen Clark Masonius @EllenMasonius]

Girl’s Basketball Camp
For Rising 3rd thru 8th
Drills Skills FUNdamentals

Register: https://t.co/ZJzDrW1l6y

@SCSprincipal @NYGHoops
@NJRiseYouth

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

Caitlin Clark is unbelievable. That was thee best girls college basketball game I have seen! Go Hawks.

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

Congratulations Holy Cross and @gracemunt for winning the Patriot League and making it to the NCAA Tournament!

[Holy Cross Women's Basketball @HCrossWBB]

Queens of the Patriot League 🏆

#GoCrossGo

[William J. Dodich @DodichW]

I am so proud to coach the Knollwood Girls Basketball Team. For four months these girls come practice everyday with a smile on their face, ready to work and get better. Division Champions and Runner Up in the Run for the Roses Tourney. Reese and Campbell were All Tournament Team!