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She has been inducted into the STAR Teacher Hall-of-Fame and recognized as one of the top five educators in the Mississippi Teacher of the Year program. After more than 40 years of dedication, few professionals are as qualified to provide exam preparation as Dot.ĭot has received numerous school, community, district, and state awards through the years, but says her best award comes when a student says, “I raised my score!” She is humbled and honored to have been selected nineteen years through the STAR teacher program, wherein the top ACT scorer in a school selects his/her most influential teacher. This passion led to helping students prepare for the ACT® through private tutoring and live classroom events. Like many educators, Dot’s passion for teaching was ignited by “seeing the light come on in a student’s eyes,” the exuberant moment when a student finally understands the material. Score improvements by her students have led to acceptances into major universities accompanied by financial scholarships, which has opened the door to higher learning for many who would have never been accepted or able to afford college on their own. She has mastered a technique of explaining difficult content in a way that every student can follow and understand. She is the primary author of the teaching modules in Jumpstart and has found its unique approach helps students of all academic ability levels stay fully engaged and gain the most improvement in the shortest time. She also serves as pastor of Homeseekers Bible Church in Wesson, MS. She has been teaching science and math for 56 years. Dot McClendon is first and foremost a people person.
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