Robert Dail made the most of his time at Appalachian State University, and now he’s using everything he learned to teach and inspire high school students at Millbrook High School in Raleigh.
Dail is a career and technical education teacher and faculty member in Millbrook’s IB Diploma Programme. IB stands for International Baccalaureate, a two-year program that students complete at participating high schools during their junior and senior years. Upon graduation and completion of the program, students earn an IB diploma.
The courses Dail teaches are Accounting 1, Multimedia and Web Design and Information Technology in a Global Society. He serves as department representative on Millbrook High School’s School Improvement Team, a member of a curriculum development team for Accounting 1 and 2 and an advisor for DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America).
“I believe you must immerse yourself in both student activities as well as professional activities outside of the classroom in order to stay current and effective within an ever-changing work world,” he said.
Dail is no stranger to extracurricular involvement. During his time at Appalachian, he served as an Appalachian Student Ambassador and participated in the North Carolina Teaching Fellows program.
“Appalachian Student Ambassadors provided me with the opportunity to share my love of Appalachian with prospective students and families. Through my involvement in this group, I was able to learn the importance of working within a group of student leaders who each had a specific leadership role, yet each role was critical in supporting the mission of the group,” Dail said.
Dail chose to attend Appalachian after participating in the Martha Guy Summer Institute for Future Business Leaders program during his junior and senior years of high school. He was able to work closely with Walker College of Business faculty members and developed a relationship with former Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock.
Appalachian’s Reich College of Education provided Dail with opportunities to develop as a teacher early in his college career.
“The college of education does an amazing job of getting you into the classroom early within your college experience. These experiences allow you to observe and interact with students in many ways so that the first year as a teacher isn’t so much of a culture shock...
“Opportunities to learn tricks of the trade from veterans within the department remains invaluable to me as an educator,” he said.
Dail recommends Appalachian’s Career and Technical Education program because there will always be a need for technical education, which provides students training for hard and soft skills.
“Appalachian’s Reich College of Education might be filled with some of the most caring souls I have ever met. They challenge you, press you, stress you – in a good way – in order to bring out the best student and educator that you can be. Appalachian’s program is on the cutting edge. It’s like I graduated with an ‘ace-up-my-sleeve’ in regard to the current education trends in the K-12 environment,” Dail said.
