Mrs. Dillon is a kindergarten teacher at Washington Elementary School. She has been teaching for 23 years, and she has taught kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Mrs. Dillon is a Viking herself, and has lived in North Arlington for most of her life and she graduated from NAHS. She graduated from Felician University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Psychology in 1998. Mrs. Dillon is also my aunt! 

As an elementary school teacher, Mrs. Dillon will tell you that she has had many interesting experiences over her years teaching. The craziest thing that she remembers was “During one of my first few years teaching, I found a pair of underpants on the floor in my classroom. I had no idea where they came from, or who they belonged to. Of course, no one claimed them!” She thinks that they were stuck to someone’s clothes when it came out of the dryer. 

Mrs. Dillon is also a huge fan of recycling! A few years ago she started collecting Little Bites wrappers as a fundraiser for her classroom. Over the years, she has collected a fair amount of money — which was repurposed in buying supplies for her classroom. Mrs. Dillon enjoys reading to her students too. Some of her favorite books to read to her students are Duck! Rabbit!, Ira Sleeps Over, and any book from the Elephant and Piggie series. The highlight of Mrs. Dillon’s day is listening as her students read to her. She says “I get to spend the entire school day with my class. I enjoy getting to know each student’s personality. It is truly amazing to watch their self-confidence grow as they learn skills from September to June.” It is not easy to teach a child how to read, write, or do math; and virtual learning makes this even more challenging. The results, however, are still just as rewarding. 

In her personal life, Mrs. Dillon enjoys going to the beach in the summer. She also enjoys shopping in both Jersey Shore outlets and online. Mrs. Dillon also spends a lot of time with her daughter, Kate. Kate plays soccer and basketball, and Mrs. Dillon enjoys attending her games. In her free time, Mrs. Dillon also enjoys reading, her favorite genre being young adult fiction. Some of her favorite novels include One of Us is Lying, What Light, and Fish in a Tree. She also enjoys binge-watching movies and TV shows on Netflix. Mrs. Dillon loves plants too. She has a tremendous collection of plants inside and outside of her house. She grows vegetables in her backyard during spring and summer, and she cares for succulent plants all year round. I asked Mrs. Dillon about advice that she would give to younger people, including her students, and she gave simple yet strong advice: “Take time to read every day!”