HOMETOWN HERO: Dorothy Fleck

Dorothy Fleck is more than just your average math teacher. For nearly half a century, she’s taught generations of eager, young minds at Wilson High School in Florence. Fleck says she made the decision to enter the teaching profession, some 46 years ago, after she had been inspired by a math teacher of her own. “I had a math teacher that I had had for three years, and I really liked what she did and decided I wanted to become a math teacher and make an impact on someone’s life like she did on mine,“ Fleck said. Fleck spent the first 10 years of her career teaching in Virginia, but in 1973 she and her husband moved down to South Carolina, and she began her lengthy career in Florence.

Fleck says throughout her many years teaching at the school, she’s not only had the opportunity to interact with thousands of young people, she’s also had the unique opportunity to teach math skills to generations of family members. “I can rarely go to Wal-Mart or to the movies or to the shopping mall or go into a business office and not have a student that I’ve had,” Fleck said. “So I guess I have made an impact over the years.“ Fleck’s students said she’s not only made a lasting impression on those students who learned the basics within her classroom, but the message of her teaching skills has also spread throughout the halls of Wilson High. “Friends of mine who haven’t even had her, know she’s retiring next year and are coming to me begging me to have her stay, because they know she’s great and they want to have her,“ said Fleck’s granddaughter and student, Alexis Poston.

Fleck says throughout the years, she has considered retiring, but always found reasons to stick around. One of the main reasons that she felt compelled to teach over the past 10 years, involved a program at the school that targets high achieving students. “I guess about ‘96 or ‘97, I was thinking I might come out,” Fleck said. “Then they brought the I.B. program to Wilson, and I was real interested in what that could offer young people.” Since that time, Fleck has embraced the program that challenges high school students to complete college level courses in a relatively short time span, and gives them a major headstart in life.

As Fleck approaches her 47th year in education this Fall, she says she had made plans to finally retire. As word spread about the beloved teacher’s potential departure, many students not only began begging her to stay, but they also felt it necessary to thank her for all of the work she’s done along the way. “She has been through a lot and she has given so much not only to the student body but to the school,” Poston said. “I just think she deserved it before she retired and left the classroom.“ Fleck herself says she has thoroughly enjoyed her teaching career, and while she doesn’t think her efforts rise to the level of heroism, she acknowledges that the impact they’ve made, will last far behind her time in the halls of Wilson High. “There’s nothing written in concrete yet,” Fleck said. “I still enjoy teaching, and so I’ve always thought that as long as I enjoy it, I should stay in here and offer what I can offer.“