Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Broward’s youngest teacher of the year
From his high school student council days and tenure as student adviser to the Broward School Board, Brian Dassler always measured his success by how many lives he’d touch.
Dassler, who was Broward County’s youngest teacher of the year and a rising star in the education community, died March 20 in Tallahassee. He was 38.
Dassler, who grew up in Broward and graduated from Cooper City High School, always dreamed of teaching in his home district and eventually becoming a high school principal, both of which he achieved.
Most recently, Dassler was deputy chancellor of educator quality at the Florida Department of Education, where he worked with teachers and helped them find different ways to reach out to students in the classroom.
“Brian was always destined for greatness,” State Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said during a State Board of Education meeting days after his death. “I believe he was able to achieve so much in his short 38 years because he never lost his desire to learn.”
Dassler’s first job was teaching English at Stranahan High School in Fort Lauderdale. Three years into his teaching career, his peers selected him as Broward teacher of the year in 2006.
At 27, Dassler was the youngest teacher to receive that award.
“He just was an extraordinarily gifted teacher because he cared about all the students,” said David Colburn, one of Dassler’s first professors at the University of Florida.
Students loved everything about Dassler, from the way he dressed — in suits and ties — to his teaching methods. He would reward class participation with Starburst candy and allow students to pick their material for a 20-minute reading segment.
“If you can get them passionate, that’s where learning begins,” he told the Sun Sentinel in 2003.
Dassler moved to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to become the founding principal of KIPP Renaissance High School, a public charter school, and chief academic officer for the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.
“There is not a student, a parent, a teacher or a leader who encountered him who was untouched by his joy and by his vision for a better world,” said Rhonda Aluise, executive director of KIPP New Orleans Schools. “He went above and beyond for each and every student he taught or led.”
At 34, he returned to Florida, working in the state Department of Education. In his free time, he mentored a student at Godby High School in Tallahassee.
Dassler stayed in touch with everyone he crossed paths with, Colburn said, and he made it a point to check up on his former students and continue challenging them.
“He didn’t just call them to see how they were doing. He wanted to know what their ambitions were and how they were getting there,” Colburn said.
“He was destined to be a major figure in education, not just in Florida but nationally. He had ideas and energy that I think would have taken him to a major leadership position,” said Colburn, who co-wrote several newspaper articles with Dassler on the need for education reform. “I never encountered anybody quite like Brian, as a student or as a person, for that matter.”
Dassler is preceded in death by his parents, Bruce and Vicky Dassler. He is survived by his brother, David, as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins.
The Broward Educational Foundation has established a memorial fund in Dassler’s name.
“Brian was passionate, dedicated and always said how blessed he was by the rich experiences he had in and out of the Broward County classroom,” said Shea Ciriago, executive director of the foundation. “With this memorial fund, Brian’s incredible legacy will live on through the teachers and students that meant so much to him.”
A memorial is being organized in Broward for the end of April.