Ms. Dawn M. Pilon

A native of Midland, Michigan, Ms. Dawn M. Pilon attended Central Michigan University, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with minors in Military Science and Interpersonal and Public Communications. Upon graduating from college, she commissioned as a Military Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Army. She served in Yongsan, Korea, after attending Airborne School, and was then assigned to the 9th Blackhawk Battalion, 101st Airborne Division as the S2, being promoted to 1LT. She deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield and received several commendations while serving four years. She grew in her profession and personally by getting involved in the theater and competing in long distance races.

She then attended the University of Louisville earning a Master of Arts in Teaching, majoring in Spanish. She taught Spanish for six years while concurrently attending Drake University, earning a Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership. She became the Dean of Students at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, and was promoted to Vice Principal for Lincoln High School one year later. After moving to Maryland, she returned to the classroom, teaching Spanish for two years. She was selected as an Assistant Principal for Meade High School, in AACPS, spending six years in that role serving in two large high schools.

Her experience in DoDEA began at Ramey Unit School in Puerto Rico six years ago. With more than twenty years of experience, she quickly found out there was still a lot to learn about how children learn and should be taught in order to maximize their education. She lives by the philosophy that she has just as much to learn from those around her as they can learn from her. After two years in Puerto Rico, she became the Assistant Principal at Kubasaki High School in Okinawa and was the Acting Principal for much of the last year.

Ms. Pilon is the proud mom of one son, Alex, who lives in Baltimore and is close with the rest of her family: her mom, sisters, nieces and nephews. She also considers the friends she has met through her time in school, in her positions in education, and in her travels as family, and truly believes that “friends are the family you choose.”

Ms. Pilon believes that every decision she ever made, every turn in the road she has ever taken, has led to the current moment and position she is about to begin. She believes “every child you pass in the hallway has a story that needs to be heard, maybe you are the one to hear it.” When the students and adults in the educational community she meets tell their story, she hopes to have a positive role for each of them. It is with great excitement that she believes this is the right place, and the right time to become an Assistant Principal at Humphreys Middle School.