RACINE, Wis. — Students across Wisconsin are officially back to school and getting in their new routines. That goes for teachers too.
A young Racine teacher is starting her first year as a teacher in a place that means a lot to her.
It wasn’t long ago that Abigail Dineen was walking the halls as a student at Horlick High School. She graduated from Horlick in 2020.
Now, she’s back as a first year teacher, in charge of one of the classrooms she remembers sitting in.
“Being able to walk these halls again, it’s pretty good,” Dineen said.
“It’s pretty surreal. It’s kind of a throwback. I wasn’t expecting to be here until like a 50-year high school reunion, or something like that,” she said.
Dineen said she first started pursuing a teaching career in high school, thanks to the “Academies of Racine” program. As part of it, students choose a future career pathway and take specialized courses, earn college credits, job shadow and work with professional mentors to develop a plan for after high school.
Academies of Racine has been in place for eight years now. Dineen is the first student from the program to go to college and return to her high school to work.
“It’s really exciting for us,” said Alex Debaker, the executive director of the Academies of Racine program. “I know Horlick is excited to have her. That’s why we do it. We want them to come back to our community to strengthen what we have here at Racine Unified.”
Dineen said it’s exciting to get her career started in a place she’s so familiar with. She said she is honored to work alongside teachers and other staff members who guided her through high school. She said she hopes to be that guiding force for others.
“I am so excited to share what I learned when I was here and give it to all the students that I will be teaching,” she said.