Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Colon.
Hi Melissa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
After I graduated college in December of 2001, I was living in my home state of Michigan, coaching a high school dance team, working, and planning to move to Chicago to start my teaching career. On a whim, I had put my name into a lottery for tickets to the Final Four Men’s College Basketball championship and I got them! The 2002 Final Four was being played in Atlanta that year. I knew nothing about Atlanta, had never visited or even had this city on my radar of places I’d like to live. That weekend I had only what can be described as many strangely spiritual moments that made me feel a strong pull towards moving here. A few weeks later I was looking for teaching jobs online and there was nothing available up north, but there were plenty in Georgia. And Clayton County Public Schools kept popping up in my searches. By the end of the month, I was back in Atlanta ready to attend a job fair. Before I went to the job fair, I stopped at a few of the schools I was most interested in. When I walked into Babb Middle School everything felt right. It was almost if I had been there before. I got to meet the Assistant Principal that day and she offered me a job on the spot after talking to me for about 5 minutes. It was like we both knew this was where I belonged.
That summer I moved to Atlanta, all by myself without a friend or family member within 800 miles. It was scary and there were several weeks of homesickness, but as soon as I started teaching, I knew I had made the right choice. I began teaching Health/PE and during my second year, I started a dance team. We started competing at local events and performing at football and basketball games. My team—the Dance Dawgs—became well known in the county and for the first time, boys wanted to be part of the team. Our hip-hop routines were show stoppers at the basketball games. The kids I coached wanted to continue dancing with me after they left middle school, so we started a high school crew. This crew of boys and girls traveled the state, competed on BET’s 106&Park and were invited to many showcases and competitions all over the country.
In 2009, Clayton County was shuffling teachers around to other schools and as the youngest health/PE teacher in the building, I was going to have to move schools. I was devastated. My then Principal, who was the same Assistant Principal that had hired me on the spot 7 years earlier, was able to create a new class for me to teach at the school—dance class! Now I was able to teach hundreds of kids in my middle school how to dance, not just the 20 kids who made my competition team. The Babb Dance Department has been a huge blessing to the school and the countless kids who’ve been a part of it for the last 16 years. We learn more than dance, we learn how to work together to make something bigger than we could do alone. We learn how to let go of fear and how to push ourselves beyond what we think we can do. We pride ourselves in having a studio that is filled with love, acceptance, and positive energy. We care more about being good people first and good dancers second. The trajectory of many lives have been changed because of this program. I have students dancing professionally in LA. I have students who have left gangs and gotten out of bad situations because dance became more important to them. I have students who have moved, traveled the world, and perused their dreams because dance taught them to not be afraid. It gave them confidence.
It is crazy to think that if I wouldn’t have won those Final Four tickets all those years ago, this wouldn’t exist. What I do each day with my students is small and really no different than what countless other amazing educators are doing all over the planet, but I am well aware of the the ripple effect of what I do and how it can truly change the world.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I look back at my entire 23 years of teaching, I remember the good. I know I’ve had many hard days, trying moments, tears, and growing pains. There’s been hard years and challenges I’ve had to overcome professionally and personally. I’ve grown up with these kids and learned as much from them as they’ve learned from me. The most challenging time for me professionally was during the COVID pandemic. We were one of the districts that chose to stay on zoom the entire year following the onset of the pandemic. Teaching dance on zoom was not the same as being in the studio together. I felt like a failure everyday. We couldn’t have Dance Dawgs because there were no games to perform for and no competitions or events to attend. It took a couple years to get the program back to where it was pre pandemic. Kids returned with so much anxiety and were scared to even sign up for my class. I finally feel like we are somewhat back to normal and it’s been 4 years back in the building.
The pandemic did teach me how to slow down and prioritize myself more. By 2019, I was not only teaching and running the dance department, but also choreographing the all-county musical, coaching swim team, coaching Dance Dawgs and the high school crew, and being in charge of every pep rally, dance, and fundraiser at my school. The break taught me to focus my energy in a healthy way, let go of some things that felt like obligations, and take better care of my mental health.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
What sets me apart from others is my ability to read energy instantly. I can tell when a student is upset or down and I also feel like I know how to handle them. I can feel when to push them and when to pull back, I know when to ignore a behavior so I don’t perpetuate it further and when to step in and offer support. I can feel when the energy is off and I am known to stop class and ask “what’s up?” My studio is a place of open, honest conversation and communication. So many people only communicate through text and social media and so much gets misunderstood. I am a big believer in face to face interactions and tactful honesty. I want everything we learn in my class to also help my students in all of their relationships outside my studio.
I am proud of the program and the culture I created and I am proud of the work we put into the world and the message we send. I have often had people stop me at competitions, dance conventions and camps and tell me that they can see my students love to dance and dance with their heart. They can feel the love and positive energy coming from them. That is the biggest compliment I can receive as a teacher.
While I am not usually one to toot my own horn or discuss my personal accomplishments, I am proud of the fact that while I’ve been teaching and building this program, I have earned two more degrees—a Masters in teaching and learning and a Specialist in coaching pedagogy. I would love to someday teach future coaches/teachers by working at a college or consulting with an entity such as the GHSA.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love the energy of Atlanta. I live right in the heart of the city in Atlantic Station. I enjoy walking around my neighborhood and exploring new things. I love all the events that come to our town.—sporting events being on the top of the list. Since the initial Final Four that brought me here, I have attended many other college basketball tournaments and another Final Four here in the city.
I know traffic is everyone’s biggest complaint here in Atlanta, but I’m thankful to have a reverse commute and my mornings are always an easy drive. Afternoons are another story though. This is why I’m happy to coach and stay at school after hours.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @babbdancedept
- Youtube: https://YouTube.com/babbdancedept
Image Credits
BlackSheepChic Photography
