About Mr. Dissen

Biography

I grew up in the South Hills and graduated from Chartiers Valley High School before earning a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Penn State. After college, I joined the Peace Corps and spent two years living in Lesotho--a small country inside South Africa. During my tour, I developed libraries across the country and trained teachers and students to use the resources. I spent five years teaching 5th grade in Northern Virginia and love being back in Pittsburgh! This is my 6th year teaching 5th grade at North Allegheny, and I love it!

Outside of school I spend a lot of time outside - gardening, hiking, traveling, and reading. My favorite part of the school year is combining my favorite outdoor activities when we go to Camp Kon-O-Kwee in the fall. It is a North Allegheny tradition that I am really proud to be a part of. I cannot wait to get to know each of my students outside of school as we get to explore KOK together!

This year we are going to have a lot of fun exploring new books and authors, writing about what makes us happy and excited, discussing what we can learn from different events in history, and learning more about what makes Pittsburgh a great city to live in!