A little more than three years ago, neighborhood resident Melanie Magee was on top of the journalism world.

She was part of a team of Dallas Morning News writers that had just won journalism’s top award – the Pulitzer Prize – for an 11-part series about violence against women. As champagne flowed throughout the newsroom, seemingly everyone was happy with his or her current place in life.

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Everyone, that is, except Magee.

“I didn’t have the fire to do it (reporting) anymore,” says the 33-year-old Magee.

“I didn’t think I was helping people.”

It was the spring of 1994, and Magee had been with the News since 1990, steadily climbing the ladder of success. It was on her primary beat as an education writer that Magee began to flirt with a career change.

“I was inspired by good teachers,” Magee says. “The more I was in schools, I began to realize what kids needed.”

“I tried to ignore it for a while, and I did some mentoring. But it was gnawing at me, saying: You have to be there everyday.”

After she finished working on the award winning series in October 1993, Magee applied for the DISD Alternative Teacher Certification program.

The day after her team received the Pulitzer, she headed to Seattle for a week-long education writers’ conference. When she returned, DISD called and invited her to join the program. A few months and no regrets later, Magee was standing in front of her very own classroom at Lakewood Elementary.

“The minute I started my AC (alternative certification) training, I knew it was right,” says Magee, who in her first three years at Lakewood taught fourth grade language arts and social studies.

By the end of her third year at Lakewood, Magee was winning awards again – this time, the Teacher of the Year Award for the 1996-97 school year, an award voted on by the Lakewood faculty.

“It’s hard work, harder than I ever did in journalism because there’s no down time,” says Magee, who will teach 5th grade language arts and science this year.

“At the Morning News, you do a big story and then you hang out for a while. That doesn’t happen in school.”

“When you’re there until 9 p.m. on parent conference night, you’ve got to be back at 7:55 a.m. the next day.”

NEWS & NOTES

Woodrow Grad Receives Master’s: Francie Hansen, a 1990 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, recently received her Master’s of Physical Therapy degree from Allegheny University of the Health Sciences. The Department of Physical Therapy also honored Hansen with two awards: the William McBeth Research Award and the Faculty Recognition Award. Hansen was a Woodrow honors student and decorated athlete.

PTA Invites New Membership: The PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) and related groups are active in every school in the Dallas Public Schools. Working with the PTA can help a parent acquire a better understanding of what’s going on in school, monitor changes in education and make informed decisions regarding our children’s education. The PTA also provides parenting programs and other learning opportunities. For information, call Ruth Houston at 214-767-1497 or 214-371-5452. For information about the Special Education PTA, call 214-982-1000.

St. Thomas Aquinas Events: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and School, 6306 Kenwood, hosts the STA Fun Run and 5K Sept. 13 at 8 a.m. in the school parking lot. Bingo night is Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. under a big tent in the parking lot. And the STA Golden Times Carnival gets underway at 1 p.m., Sept. 20 in the parking lot. For information, call Mary Beth Harrington at 214-503-8823.

Pegasus Charter School: The Pegasus Charter School is part of the public school system of Texas. It provides tuition-free public education to students throughout Dallas County. Pegasus is an open-enrollment school, opening its doors to 7th, 8th and 9th graders this Fall. The school will ultimately serve 300 students in grades 7-12. Pegasus is located on the second floor of 2121 Main St. in the historic fire station building. The mission of Pegasus is “to educate individuals in the liberal arts and sciences in order to prepare them for productive and meaningful lives in an increasingly complex world.” For information, call Charlie Blanton, Ed.D., at 214-503-7735, or FAX 214-503-7736.