DATE: Thursday, June 12, 1997               TAG: 9706120194

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: THUMBS UP 

SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   86 lines

DORIS JOHNSON OUTSTANDING MENTOR, READING RECOVERY PROGRAM

Doris Johnson believes in encouraging her first-grade students to believe in themselves.

A Reading Recovery teacher at Driver Elementary School, Johnson works one-on-one with four students in a reading lab and teaches two literacy groups. Reading Recovery is for first-graders who are not achieving up to their potential.

``We read, read, read,'' she said. ``We also do some skills and do a lot of writing. At first, the children think they can't do it, but I tell them to take their time and say the words slowly.''

Johnson's students are also nudged to write mini-stories.

``It's not `War and Peace,' '' Johnson said, smiling, ``but I dictate sentences and we go over it on the board. I tell them, `You can write it.' ''

For her achievements and dedication to her profession, Johnson has been named the outstanding mentor in the Reading Recovery Program by the state Children and Youth Task Force.

Eight mentors were selected in grades K through 6, and another eight in grades 7 through 12. Johnson represents the best of the region in the elementary category, which includes South Hampton Roads, Western Tidewater, the Peninsula and the Eastern Shore.

``I have a sense of being a role model,'' Johnson said. ``Some children say I'm mean and I say, `Don't forget it.' I make them behave, but I try to let them know I care and I want them to care about each other.''

Johnson, 48, is a native of Philadelphia, Pa. She married while attending Elizabeth City State University in 1970 and received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Delaware State University in 1971.

``After graduation, I entered the business world,'' she said. ``I did research and was in charge of tuition reimbursement at Fidelity Bank in Philadelphia, so I've always been involved in education in some way.''

After a move to Chesapeake, Johnson stayed at home with her two sons, Herman DuBose, who is now a student at Tennessee State University, and Marques DuBose, who is employed by First Union Bank in Charlotte, N.C.

When her children went to elementary school, Johnson did substitute teaching in the Chesapeake School System and then taught full-time at the former Aesop School in grades 1 through 3.

``That was a good experience because I could teach across the curriculum,'' she said. ``I could see where each child was and could meet their needs.''

In 1987, Johnson was hired at Kilby Shores Elementary School to teach transition first grade, a program for children who have finished kindergarten, but are not quite ready for first grade.

After her divorce in 1988, Johnson married Roddie Johnson, who is retired from the Navy and government work. As a volunteer at Driver Elementary, he chaperones field trips and reads to the kindergarten class.

In 1991, Johnson earned a master's degree in early childhood development at Old Dominion University and transferred to Driver Elementary as a Title I kindergarten teacher. She completed training for the Reading Recovery Program through Norfolk State University two years ago.

``It's rewarding when you work with students and the proverbial light bulb comes on,'' she said.

Johnson's duties at Driver don't end in the classroom. She is a United Way campaign worker at the school and one of three co-advisers of the Student Council Association. Working with the Salvation Army, she also coordinates a food drive for the needy at Thanksgiving and Toys for Tots at Christmastime.

``The SCA did a linen drive for the homeless shelter and made a contribution to the Joy Fund,'' she said. ``Our SCA received recognition from the Virginia State Association of Student Councils for three years in a row.''

``Mrs. Johnson works with Delta Sigma Theta sorority to tutor students and sponsor the Teen Lift Program,'' said Karen Brickey, principal of Driver Elementary who nominated Johnson for the award. ``She has been responsible for building school spirit between staff and students.''

``Teen Lift is a program for ages 10 through 18,'' Johnson said. ``We meet at the East Suffolk Complex and try to guide the children educationally and morally. We've had programs on good dental and physical hygiene practices and taken them to plays and on field trips. Any child is welcome.''

A member of the Community Presbyterian Church, Johnson is a Worthy Matron (president) and chairperson of the Education Department of the Bathsheba Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. She is also treasurer of the Daughters of the Sphinx, which is similar to the Shrine organization.

For the past two years, Johnson has been an adjunct professor at Paul D. Camp Community College in Suffolk. One night a week, she teaches her favorite subject, early childhood education, to prospective teachers. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II

Driver Elementary teacher Doris Johnson works on a test with

first-grade student Jonathan Bell.

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