Mrs. Dowdell has returned to Washington Township High School after previously working at assorted middle schools in the area. She said that although she loved her time in the middle school grades, high school is where her teaching career began, and she is beyond excited to be back.

            Dowdell attended college at Rowan University for her undergraduate degree and earned her masters degree from Stockton University. At first she considered going into the field of business; however, she decided to become a teacher because she wanted to make a difference in the lives of the youth today. She didn’t necessarily picture herself as a high school or middle teacher, but she did see herself working in an elementary school. According to Dowdell though, she does love making the connections with her students that she may not have been able to in elementary education.

At the high school Dowdell teaches financial literacy and CP accounting. She says that it has been a relatively smooth transition back to WTHS, but she does think that the lack of bells is a little challenging. Although, she believes that this does force children to be more responsible and accountable. Dowdell also commented on how much she loves the sense of community there is and the energy of the faculty and students, but she would also like to see some additional positivity and kindness. She believes that our world needs more of those two things.

On the topic of teaching, Dowdell would like to tell any students who are considering going into the education field to, “Be sure you are going into the education profession for the right reasons. It is a very challenging career. It can be extremely rewarding but many of those are intrinsic in nature”.