UPDATE: Since this story originally aired, we've learned that from the $12,000 raised, $7,000 went to the Northern Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation and $5,000 went to other local businesses.
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Our Someone 2 Know moved to Reno to attend UNR in 1995, where he discovered he had a calling for education. Daryl Dunn has been a teacher for 12 years; the past seven at Hunter Lake Elementary in Reno. There, he is credited with helping the school achieve the Blue Ribbon of Excellence
All the while he has also been raising a family and running a business
We met up with him inside his classroom to watch him in action.
6th grade teacher Daryl Dunn has a way about him that keeps students engaged and eager to participate, because it's easy to see that Dunn himself is engaged and genuinely connected to his students.
“I love building those relationships, we share stories about our lives. I think that's as important as the academics that go on”.
Hi principal, Amanda Mc Williams, says Dunn is good at both; "He has very high demands and expectations for them and it comes out to be some of the best test score from a teacher.”
Dunn has his class at Hunter Lake Elementary clapping and verbalizing throughout the lessons because he says hours of just sitting can be tiresome; “So, I try to make it like a lively, energetic atmosphere, so they're always kinda like doing stuff in my classroom, plus it makes it fun for me”.
And the fun doesn't stop in the class room
"I’m co-owner of DJ Funn which is a local DJ company - DJ and MC company. My business partner actually is Joe Hurley, he's a teacher over at Jesse Beck.” The company launched in 2012, and like everything else, came to a screeching halt in 2020 because of the pandemic.
"We had a lot of events that were canceled".
DJ Funn decided to use the time to give back to the community during the shutdown, a came up with an idea called “Doorstep Disco; ”We would show up mobiley to someone's street, they requested us via social media. People would come out to their yards at a safe distance - and enjoy some music>
Through donations, the effort ended up raising almost $12,000 for northern Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation - and recently an exciting new partnership with Daryl's alma mater, the University of Nevada Reno;
"We are the official DJ of Nevada Wolfpack home games for both football and basketball”.
Daryl admits teaching full time and running a business keep him super busy - and says it's worth it; “I have three kiddos and they're the reason I do all this stuff. They are my driving force”
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Next, Daryl says he will enroll in a master's program for educational leadership and administration - so that he can one day be a school principal. Plus - he and his business partner will keep growing the DJ Funn company
