ALUMNI: David Achimore comes back to Davis High to teach

PHOTO: Davis High alumnus and current teacher David Achimore lives with his wife and their dog.

By Wentao Chen,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Six years after graduating from Davis High, David Achimore found himself right back at his high school again, at the place that played a significant role in shaping him into the person that he is today.

After graduating from DHS in 2006, Achimore did what many other graduating seniors did and left Davis to attend college. He studied English and religion at UC Santa Barbara.

Achimore graduated from UCSB in 2010, and shortly after, applied to Americorps, finding a job in Washington D.C. working at an adult education school. He taught reading, writing and math to people who dropped out of school or wanted to earn a GED certificate.

Working this job led Achimore to become interested in teaching. “I knew I wanted to enter education,” he said.

He liked D.C., “but California was better,” and so in 2011, he applied to the UC Davis teaching credential program, where he worked as a student teacher in Elk Grove. Finally, in 2012, Achimore was offered a teaching job at DHS and returned to his former high school, this time as a teacher.

DHS had a very large impact on Achimore. He “lucked out and had really good teachers.” His most memorable experience was as a water polo player. Unexpectedly, during his senior year, the team beat Jesuit in the finals for the first time in all three of his years at DHS. It was a delightful surprise for him, his teammates and his coach.

“For better or for worse, Davis High is a competitive place,” Achimore said, looking back. He said that he was thankful for the work ethic that was necessary to keep up in his AP classes, as it helped him on his journey to where he is today.

Today, Achimore teaches AP English Literature and Composition, British Literature and ELD 3/ELD 4 at DHS, as he has a great passion for reading and writing. In his teaching, he incorporates aspects of his humor and personality. “I really do enjoy the interactive part of teaching,” he said.

Additionally, through all these years, Achimore has continued to bike to school whenever he can. This is something he did in high school and still does now, not living too far from DHS.

Achimore has no intentions of stopping to teach anytime soon. Although he and his wife, who currently live with their dog, are reaching the age where they are considering starting a family, “[he wants] to keep teaching. It’s just fun.”