Wednesday's Woman: Jennifer Dunn, GCPS Teacher of the Year Finalist

School was no cake walk.

Words didn't look like they were supposed to, writing papers was less than fun, it was hard not to be distracted by random things. And, if it weren't for a few stand-out teachers, Jennifer Dunn could've been a problem kid that turned into a problem adult.

But, it didn't go that way.

Diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) when she was younger, Dunn remembers thinking that something was wrong with her. That she couldn't possibly succeed. 

"I always had the persona that I couldn't learn, that my sister was smarter than me, that I was the dumb one," she said.

Enter Mrs. Ginny Hanley and Mrs. Cindy Schairer, two teachers at who made a monumental impact on Dunn. They paid attention to her, took time with her and made her see she was special for other things. That her learning disabilities did not define her. 

Ms. Hanley, "she was the one who changed my belief in myself that I could learn math," Dunn said.

She realized she could learn through song. Math and acting became her thing. For a time, it looked like she might go the way of a Broadway life, but in her senior year of high school teaching resonated beyond anything else.

She looked her former teachers up to tell them thank you. Facebook, of all things, helped bring them back together.

Now, nearly 15 years after graduating from Brookwood High School, Dunn is up for Gwinnett . She's been teaching for nine years, including four years at in Snellville. Coming from where she did -- the kid whose talking in class got her into a lot of trouble -- it's hard for her to believe.

"Honestly, I'm still in awe about all of it," she said. "I don't think of myself as a better teacher than anybody else. I'm just doing my job. It's all about the kids."

She's able to resonate with both her students and their parents, who look at her as the epitome of what you can become -- even with learning disabilities -- if you apply yourself and have someone who cares enough to assist you.

She's that person for her students. Taking extra time with her children, especially those who remind her of herself, infusing her life and humor into lessons and being an all-around encouragement.

"I love to take those kids under my wings who just don’t have that faith in themselves," Dunn said. "For them to see that their teacher has learning disabilities, they think I'm the coolest thing."

"They really listen to you, and they have the confidence in themselves," she added. And, "it helps for parents to see that their kids are not going to be a total failure because they learn a different way."

Fifth grade is her favorite age group to teach. The kids are young enough that you can fun them, and old enough to get her sarcastic humor, Dunn said.

"You can do some much with them. They're so creative. They blow my mine every day," she said. "If they were to put me in kindergarten, heaven help the little kids."

At fifth-grade graduation, she's always balling raindrops.

Her students, and well, anyone who meets her it seems, also like something else unique about Dunn: She's a mother of triplets.

Next year when her 4-year-old triplets -- two girls and a boy -- trail behind mom on the way to Pharr Elementary, Dunn said things will get even more interesting.

"I can't even imagine how my classroom will change when I have three people with me every day," she said, laughing.

Her triplets are already the topic of many classroom conversations. She even works her children into lessons.

"They crack me up," she said, about her three children.

When this 30-year-old isn't being mom, or being teacher, or being wife, she does try to do other things. She is active in her Lilburn church, does embroidery for fun, and loves to paint and sing. Here's a not-so-big secret: Dunn is obsessed with "Glee," as well.

When thinking about her upcoming chances at Teacher of the Year, Dunn thanks those two teachers at Brookwood for getting her here, but she also thanks her mother, best friend and husband.

Her mother, Debbie Ringer, has been the inspiration that taught her how to juggle her many responsibilities with grace. Her best friend, the Rev. Jill Henning, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, is one of her biggest confidants. Her husband of seven years, Mike Dunn, a teacher at Grace Snell Middle, has been the go-to guy who helps her keep her life glued together.

She's a perfect example of it taking a village to succeed. Now, she's bestowing that good will on to her own three children, and her students. Becoming the district's Teacher of the Year would be a fitting honor.

"I don’t think of myself as something rare," Dunn said. "I feel all the teachers are that way. You wouldn’t be in this position if it weren't for the kids. “