“D” is for Dozier, Therese Knecht (b. 1952). 1985 Teacher of the Year. Dozier was born in Vietnam, the child of a Vietnamese mother and a former German officer. In 1954 she and her brother were adopted by a U.S. Army officer and his wife—the first Vietnamese children adopted by an American couple. She received her B.A. in social studies education and M.Ed. from the University of Florida. In 1977 Dozier moved to South Carolina and began teaching at Irmo High School. Immensely popular with her students, she was selected South Carolina Teacher of the Year in 1985 and later that year received the National Teacher of the Year Award. She earned her Ed.D. from USC in 1995. From 1993 to 2001, Therese Knecht Dozier served as a senior advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley.
“D” is for Dozier, Therese Knecht (b. 1952)
