In March, when classes first went online, Johnigan purchased and delivered the ingredients for a simple cooking lesson to 15 students. She held “drive-thru” tutoring lessons for two students who didn’t have access to the Internet. Both wearing masks, Johnigan sat in her car and her student sat outside in a folding chair at a tray table Johnigan set up.
“Some people will tell you education is their passion but those are words and with her, you can tell it’s her passion,” said Cindy Koth, the principal at Dayton SMART Elementary, a charter school. “It’s not words, it’s actions.”
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
During this challenging year, Daytonians like Johnigan have persevered and gone out of their way to help their community. Throughout the month of December, the Dayton Daily News is telling the stories of individuals who have inspired others in a new series called Inspire Dayton.
Rachel Soto, a janitor at Johnigan’s school, nominated Ms. J for the Inspire Dayton series.
“She’s just an overachiever in everything that I’ve seen her do,” Soto said. “She goes over and beyond for her students ... She inspires me to continue to put in hard work and be dedicated.”
When school was in-person, Soto worked in the evenings from about 4 to 8 p.m. and often saw Johnigan working late, sometimes even staying later than Soto did.
Before the pandemic, Ms. J, as her students call her, organized Fun Learning Saturday sessions so students could use the school computers. Now, she delivers meals and homework packets to families who can’t make it to the pick-up time on Mondays.
“I try to think about how I can help my families,” Johnigan said.
Johnigan said this year has been difficult. Her class hasn’t cooked or danced as often during in-person or virtual class as they did pre-pandemic. Johnigan feared her virtual classroom wouldn’t have the same energy as in-person.
“That just means that I have to work harder, trying to find those activities to do to try to build that rapport and build those relationships,” she said.
That includes working late to redesign a lesson plan because her students inspired her with some great questions about snow and spending hours creating a Bitmoji classroom — a virtual cartoon version of a classroom.
She said she’s been largely successful despite the hurdles and she loves her new students as much as she loves her returning students.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Johnigan has been a teacher for 30 years, mostly in the Dayton Public Schools. She has taught at Dayton SMART Elementary School for the past two years. Her daughter Alexia Satterwhite is 28.
Johnigan said she is inspired by how teachers as a whole have risen to the challenge of this pandemic. She is looking forward to a time when she can be together with her students and doing “what (she loves) to do a little more freely.”
Inspire Dayton
Throughout the month of December, the Dayton Daily News will tell the stories of people who have persevered and inspired others during this challenging year. Tell us who inspired you in 2020 by emailing jordan.laird@coxinc.com.
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