Every spring, NBC15 here in Madison recognizes public school educators who have gone “above and beyond to make a positive impact on the lives of their students” by awarding them Crystal Apple Awards. Out of hundreds of nominees, NBC15 chooses five awardees from the entire south-central Wisconsin area.
This year, NBC15’s Leigh Mills surprised Marshall educator Troy Dean in the classrooms at Marshal High School with the Crystal Apple Award, which recognizes public school educators making outstanding contributions to education
“I’m overwhelmed. It’s a pretty cool feeling. They caught me a little off guard. It was an emotional moment for me,” Dean tells Madison365. “I got a chance to hear a couple of students being interviewed and talking about me and some of the words they had to say were pretty powerful and it let me know that I’m doing the right thing and it makes me feel like I’m making an impact on children throughout the Marshall School District.
“It was great to get the award from Leigh Mills, too, who I’ve done some charity events with in the past,” he adds. “When she presented me with the award, it was overwhelming.”
The Crystal Apple Award recognizes teachers who touch the lives of students in extra special ways. NBC15 received hundreds of nominations from dozens of schools. Each nominee was reviewed by an NBC15 committee of judges to narrow nominations to five Crystal Apple recipients and ten Honorable Mentions.
Dean is a paraprofessional educator in the special education department at Marshall High, who supports and assists with providing instructional and non-instructional services to youth, children and families.
“There’s a number of things that I do,” Dean says. “I help kids understand what’s going on in the classroom. If a kid is having a hard time reading, we might take him or her to a separate classroom and help them read and answer any questions they might have. We pretty much work hand in hand with all the different teachers in the school.
“We help kids have a comfort level in the school. There are some kids who need a different amount of help depending on their disability and their situation,” he continues. “I’m mainly in the special ed department, but I’m also there to help general ed[ucation] kids, too. So any child asking for help in the classroom, I’m there to help them.”
Dean says he was also happy to find out that he’s the first-ever African American to win the Crystal Apple Award in the Marshall School District.
“I think that’s important. We have our fair share of African American kids, Hispanic kids, Asian kids … it’s a very high farming, agriculture community,” says Dean, adding that he is the only Black educator in the Marshall School District right now. “Being a Black male, there are certain things that come to me because of my life experiences and I take them on 100 percent, whether it’s a racial issue or someone who has transferred to our school from a more diverse school who is trying to acclimate… it can be a little bit of a culture shock coming from a school that is mostly students of color to where you are now really a minority. But I can make a student feel comfortable and I let them know that my door is always open.”
What does Dean like best about his job?
“I love the interaction with the kids. You know me, being a former high schooler, many moons ago … I wish there was more interaction between students and teachers back then but I was lucky enough to be under, [Principal] Mr. [Milt] McPike at East High School, and my grade level principal, Mr. Thomas, who were very personal people. And there were other teachers that were special to me too…. Teachers that really took a liking to me.
“I was one of those kids where it took a village to get through school, from elementary schools to middle through high school, you know, it took a village … it wasn’t just an individual effort,” Dean continues. “So if I can just return the favor and help other kids out now, and do what I felt was lacking in my high school career as far as more interaction. Kids get to know me on a personal level, and they feel comfortable sharing their hopes and dreams with me.”
Dean has always been a mentor to young people throughout his career whether it be at school or through coaching. He has worked with thousands of students over the year through his Daze Entertainment Basketball, a team of streetball players based out of Madison that he founded in 2006, who have been sharing their talents with young people at assembly, charity, and fundraiser games along with at a host of Madison-area schools.
“I tell people I don’t just educate September through June, you know, because I run into these kids at different functions or sporting events, or I might run into them at the mall or stuff like that,” says Dean, who is also a football coach at Madison La Follette. “And just like I don’t just coach during football season. I make myself accessible through emails and chat. So, whenever a kid needs me, I’m there for them.
“There have been times where students have struggled with a class and it’s eight o’clock at night, and I’m about to have dinner and they’re like, ‘Hey, Mr. Dean, can you help me with this class real quick?’ I always say, ‘Sure.’ I’m not going to turn a kid down if they ever need my help.”
