James Kpanai Dawolo is a social studies teacher who teaches World History Connections 10 and US History through an African American Lens. He also is the Varsity Defensive Backs football coach and Freshman Assistant Baseball Coach. Despite the extensive jobs he has at RAHS, he has taken on the role of being the new cultural lead.
Dawolo has been teaching for twenty years and has been at RAHS for ten years. He expressed that he hadn’t always thought he would be teaching, but he said, “ Teaching is a calling and when it came knocking, I answered.
Dawolo has many responsibilities in his line of work. He gave incite on some of his responsibilities as the cultural lead, he said, “I am on many different committees that address attendance, on-boarding, student/staff, and staff/staff relationships. I will also be leading two different staff groups in the building and working with our youth in any way that I can in support of their learning and co-curricular events.”
Dawolo plans on making a difference in our school when it comes to supporting teachers and staff in making RAHS a more welcoming space for everyone. He said, “My plan is to help get monthly mindset meetings going for staff who are new and/or in year 3 of probationary terms. My hope is that these meetings can set them up for success and bring about positive and productive focus as they continue their teaching careers. My other project is to have a RAHS focused chapter of the district-wide F.O.C.U.S. group that hosts the teachers of color seasonally. There we can discuss building matters in our affinity group right here in our space.”
To Dawolo, his career is more than work. He makes an impact on the lives of students everyday and hopes to inspire the youth. He said, “…it is a chance to be on the front lines striving to make a difference in the lives of young people. There are many adults who talk about doing this, but this is my charge on a daily basis. The generation before was there for me so I want to be a part of the individuals who pay it forward for the next groups of young people to come after me for as long as I possibly can.”
