High School Dropout Retires From Teaching
He Turned His Life Around to Make a Positive Impact on Others
by Jim Evans

Gene Doxey overcame a shaky start to become Teacher of the Year.

Some of Gene Doxey’s students at Olive Peirce Middle School — and their parents — might find
it hard to believe that the 1989-90 Teacher of the Year who has been listed three times in "Who’s Who in America" was once a high-school dropout. But it’s true!

Doxey, who grew up in Pacific Beach, will be the first to admit that he had a hard time in school as a youngster and dropped out of high school in 1961. Several years later, while working at San Diego State, he befriended a young man with a Ph.D. who encouraged him to return to school and finish his education.

Doxey had always wanted to do something with his life where he could have a positive impact on young people, so teaching became the driving force in his life. He completed his GED, graduated with a degree from SDSU and began a career in teaching that will finally end this spring after more than 31 years in Ramona — the last 26 at Olive Peirce Middle School.

"I have been fortunate to have spent my entire teaching career in Ramona," Doxey said. "It has been so rewarding to work with middle-school students over the years and now to work with a whole new generation of children — some of whom are the children of my former students! It is such a warm feeling to watch these young people grow up to be adults and to think that, perhaps, I had an influence on their lives in some way."

Doxey doesn’t teach the traditional "3 Rs." He teaches a nine-week course in contemporary issues and health that embraces such topics as adolescent development, emotional intelligence, communication skills, drug and alcohol abuse — in short, the personal subjects that help students to better understand their changing world and how to cope with it.

And what will Doxey do after he retires?

"Well, I hope to continue teaching on a part-time basis for a while, perhaps alternating every nine weeks with Mr. Whitson to keep my foot in the door," he said. "I just want to continue making a difference, if I can."

His students would say that he already has.