{"id":12289,"date":"2026-06-30T10:41:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?p=12289"},"modified":"2026-06-30T10:41:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:41:30","slug":"turning-a-new-page-from-classroom-to-changemaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/2026\/06\/30\/turning-a-new-page-from-classroom-to-changemaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning a\u00a0New Page:\u00a0From Classroom to Changemaker"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dayle Burns leads Georgia literacy charge<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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When Dayle Burns (\u201876) started her college career at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro in 1973, she dreamed of becoming an art teacher to inspire others. She never imagined that one day she would play a key role in Georgia\u2019s literacy movement. Yet from the moment she stepped into the Foy Fine Arts Building, she set out on a path that would ultimately transform the lives of children throughout the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Georgia Southern is also where she met the love of her life, Georgia Speaker of the House of Representatives Jon Burns. She remembers the Landrum Dining Center being the heart of campus social life, and she and Jon would meet there to talk between classes. They also ventured out to the surrounding area to experience the height of \u201870s pop culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe went on our first date to see Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons in Savannah, and I mean the real Frankie Valli,\u201d Burns recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Burns, who is from Florida, considered colleges, she wasn\u2019t interested in the big schools in her home state. Georgia Southern\u2019s campus was far more appealing. \u201cThe close-knit community around Georgia Southern felt right for me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through their shared involvement in Greek life, Dayle and Jon became inseparable. They married just two weeks after she graduated in 1976. The following years became a whirlwind for both. Jon launched a political career that would eventually lead him to his influential position in the Georgia House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Dayle continued her education, earning master\u2019s and education specialist degrees in school counseling and administration from Georgia Southern. She steadily advanced in leadership positions, ultimately becoming a principal. In her roles, the alumna incorporated the kind of personal connection she valued during her college years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember having to take a music appreciation class, but I think I\u2019m tone deaf,\u201d Burns laughed. \u201cDr. Jack Broucek was the head of the music department and he worked with me one-on-one to help me get through that class. That\u2019s how it was and how they treated people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Burns thrived in Georgia Southern\u2019s nurturing and supportive community. She built such strong relationships with her professors that she often babysat their children. As Burns developed her own artistic and teaching style, she drew inspiration from the University\u2019s world-class faculty. The diverse perspectives of her professors fueled her own personal and professional growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDr. Bruno Bak and I were really close friends,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was a Polish immigrant who was incarcerated in a concentration camp during World War II. He was a brilliant designer with art all over the world, especially printmaking and stained glass. He had a big impact on my art education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout her career, Burns focused on lifting up those around her. Whether teaching in the classroom or serving as an administrator, she took the time to learn the names of her students and colleagues. Once she discovered her students\u2019 aspirations, she tailored the curriculum to help them achieve their goals. Now retired, she enjoys seeing generations of former students become adults and have children of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany former students are lifelong friends,\u201d said Burns. \u201cI\u2019m so proud of all of them and all they have accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Burns retired, she looked forward to a quieter life with her family. The mother of two thought her educational journey was complete, and she embraced life as a grandmother. Rather than preparing lesson plans and hearing the ringing of school bells, she focused on the timing of crop planting and the soothing sounds of gentle breezes drifting through pine trees on the family farm in Effingham County. Little did she know, fate would lead her to an unexpected mission of helping others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was ready to retire, I stepped away from reading research and journal articles about education,\u201d Burns said. \u201cI was helping the Speaker in his office when something came across his desk about how poorly Georgia students were doing in reading. Only about 37% of Georgia kids could read at grade level by the time they get to fourth grade. It was a moment of incredible realization that I wasn\u2019t done. I didn\u2019t get dragged back into education, I jumped.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The state legislature launched new initiatives such as the Georgia Reads campaign to support literacy across the state. Burns joined the efforts by speaking at events hosted by the newly formed Georgia Council on Literacy and organizing her own committee to encourage a stronger focus on reading at the county level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really believe in a grassroots effort,\u201d said Burns. \u201cI have not talked to anybody who is not interested in making this literacy improvement in our state. It can be churches, it can be day care providers or even your public libraries. If we\u2019re all working together, it\u2019s going to get better in Georgia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those efforts paid off. The Georgia General Assembly allocated more than $5.5 million in the 2027 fiscal year state budget to support the development of an applied reading center at Georgia Southern. Thanks to the historic literacy bill (HB 1193) signed into law in May and championed by Burns and her husband, the center will design professional development courses for teachers and train literacy coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to her work on the state level, Burns remains a dedicated alumna. She serves on the advisory board of Georgia Southern\u2019s College of Education and is instrumental in spearheading a project that focuses on strengthening professional learning of classroom teachers in the science of reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burns considers her renewed participation in classroom lessons a blessing, as her joy of seeing students excel has never wavered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not someone who looks back on what I should have done because I\u2019m always looking forward to what more I can do,\u201d Burns said. \u201cIf I did look back, I wonder if I should have stayed in the art classroom because I loved it so much. But when I look at everything I\u2019m able to do now, I just appreciate how many lives we can change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Billy Tyson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dayle Burns leads Georgia literacy charge When Dayle Burns (\u201876) started her college career at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro in 1973, she dreamed of becoming an art teacher to inspire others. She never imagined that one day she would play a key role in Georgia\u2019s literacy movement. Yet from the moment she stepped into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":12290,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[91,92],"class_list":["post-12289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-fall-2025","tag-spring-2026"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t