Teacher Tuesday: Meet Ellen Deutscher, Teacher and Designer in Resident, Scott Center at Hillbrook
Teacher Tuesday: Meet Ellen Deutscher, Teacher and Designer in Resident, Scott Center at Hillbrook

Teacher Tuesday: Meet Ellen Deutscher, Teacher and Designer in Resident, Scott Center at Hillbrook

What strikes you most about the students at Hillbrook?
I started working at Hillbrook in February, so I’m a pretty new face on campus. I’ve been impressed with how friendly and helpful the students have been. They are happy to answer questions and even engage in a little humor! 😃

When you think about the students at Hillbrook, what’s the one thing that stands out to you?
What stands out for me when I think about Hillbrook students and community is the authentic value placed on kindness. Not only is it a written core school value, but you can feel it alive and thriving among the students and community of Hillbrook.

What is your favorite project and why?
As I previously mentioned, I am pretty new to the Scott Center and Hillbrook School. I have a couple of favorite moments:

Producing Hillbucks in the Money Matters Mint was a fast-paced, super high-energy team effort! I loved that we had to work together to get it done. #BetterTogether

I also loved stumbling upon Ms. DePalma’s English students reading Macbeth together. They were engaged, reading in character, asking questions, and making predictions. I love this! Macbeth is my favorite play and I used to teach Shakespeare to 5th and 6th graders for many years, so this was such a treat!

What made you choose to teach at Hillbrook?
I came to Hillbrook for a couple of reasons. For a number of years, I have been aware of Hillbrook’s focus on kindness and empathy and hands-on learning. This connects directly with my passion for human-centered design and creative learning. When I saw that Hillbrook had also opened the Scott Center for Social Entrepreneurship, it seemed an even better fit, so I am excited to be part of the community!

What are you most looking forward to at Hillbrook in the next few months?
I am looking forward to the creative ways Hillbrook will continue to reimagine the ‘normal’ school experiences. I know as a community, Hillbrook has already come together to create unique learning experiences and opportunities in these unprecedented times. I’m excited to see what the minds and imaginations of Hillbrook create for the rest of the school year and reimagine for the usual ‘end of school’ rituals and activities!

What is the last place you visited?

Check out Ms. Deutscher’s steampunk costume that came out of the Project Based Learning Group at Design Camp!

In a professional capacity, I last traveled to Design Camp (for educators) in San Diego! This group always brings together imagination, creativity, learning, and play. (Check out her steampunk garb, created during a Project-Based Learning activity at this event.)

For vacation, hiking in Southern Utah!

We hope you loved getting to know Ms. Deutscher.

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