By: PAIGE FOSTER
Staff Writer
El Diamante boasts a whole slew of new staff members this year, and one of those staff members is Ms. Shonnel Hill, an English and Skills teacher with a passion for her work and a strong dedication to her student’s well-being.
While this is Ms. Hill’s first official year as a teacher, she has worked as a paraprofessional in classrooms for the last six years. In and out of the classroom, she preaches the rhetoric of authenticity, surmised simply in the phrase “be yourself”. Ms. Hill is driven to do this with even greater ardor because of her family, which consists of her fiance and two daughters. Not only does she value genuine individual expression in her students and herself, but she also takes time to do things – from getting her nails done to unwinding with some TV at the end of a long day – which “make [her] feel beautiful” and ultimately provide a model for how she wants her own daughters to treat themselves.
Aside from her dedication to her family, Ms. Hill also values the connection she makes with her students and her position to be a positive role model in their lives. Her kind (but firm) manner encourages her students to perform to the best of their ability, and she cultivates a sense of safety and camaraderie in her classroom by openly disclosing troubles from her own high school years. It is readily apparent that Ms. Hill’s debut as a teacher has been a success, and both students and staff look forward to interacting with her as she continues her career here at El D.
