INTERVIEW WITH SHAYLA HULGAN:
Question: Why did you join Sand Hill School?
Shayla: Almost as soon as I got here, I knew it was where I wanted to be. I met Cindy [Head of Sand Hill School] and the way she talked about the school’s personalized approach to learning and the flexibility to teach at the students’ pace really resonated with me. Sand Hill School works like a net for kids, catching those at danger of “falling through the cracks.” It is an incredible opportunity to work not just one on one with a struggling student but to catch an entire class of ten kids who are at-risk and helping them get on the right track.
Question: What’s one of your favorite Sand Hill School moments so far?
Shayla: The other day one of our students took a lesson about insect anatomy and turned it into a song! We were studying vocabulary terms like thorax and antenna. Later, during the movement part of our day (when the kids get to dance and sing), we were singing the hokey pokey and he started singing, “You put your thorax in, you put your thorax out.” The other kids loved it. They added other verses with antenna and wings, and it’s become a part of our classroom routine. It’s easily a moment that could have been missed in a larger classroom, but at Sand Hill we can take student creativity and run with it.
