Mrs. D’Anna has been the core of the dance program at Blake high school. She is inspiring and motivating teacher who is very passionate about her work. Based on everything she has created at Blake, it would be a absolute disgrace to see her get pushed out of the program she helped create.

Mrs. D’Anna truly cares about her students and is always pushing them to better themselves. Please sign this petition to help us keep her at Blake.

Here’s a message from some current students regarding Mrs. D’Anna

Recently, Ms Danielle D'Anna was told that she would be involuntarily transferred at the end of this school year. This is not the first time Blake has attempted to drive an arts teacher out, which doesn't make sense, as Blake is Montgomery County Public Schools' Signature School for the Arts. Ms. D'Anna has been teaching dance at Blake for the past 15 years. Along with teaching, she was also the Blake Bengals Pom coach for eight years and brought her team from Division 3 to Division 1. Ms. D'Anna was recognized as Universal Dance Association's most valuable coach for three years in a row. Ms. D'Anna has developed a high level dance group at Blake, the Dance Company. Students strive and work hard to be a part of this group before they graduate their senior year. Members of this group not only learn new choreography in different styles but also learn how to choreograph as well as the origins of dance. Her dance students grow as strong confident technical dancers, choreographers and story tellers.

She has had a positive impact on all of her students, many of whom have moved on to become dancers in the professional world, dancer majors in college, and dance teachers themselves. Ms. D'Anna has turned the dance studio into a safe haven for not only her students, but others looking for someone to talk to. Last year, when we lost two students in the senior class, she opened her doors to anyone who needed time to grieve and took time to listen and just be there for whatever they needed.

Ms. D'Anna is the reason that students come back each year to participate in the dance department. Students are eager to learn, both technically and creatively from her. She works them hard because she knows her students can, and will, succeed- through dance and academics in making sure her students are prepared for the professional world. So many alumni come back each year to visit her and watch the dancers grow. Ms. D'Anna's passion for dance and teaching has been shared with every student she has ever welcomed and taught in the dance department. Ms. D'Anna has had a positive impact on the lives of her students and there is no reason why she should not be welcomed back to James Hubert Blake High School next year with open arms.