Teacher’s Toolkit
Jeremy Hillyard, Talbot County Spanish and ESOL Math Teacher
Jeremy Hillyard is a Spanish and ESOL math teacher at Easton High School in Talbot County and the county’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. “At the heart of my teaching philosophy,” says Jeremy,” is teaching the students that show up in front of you however they show up. This may be different to the students that you WANT to show up. It is truly listening to what each student brings to class each day, honoring that, and starting to grow from that point. In 2020, I started doing improv comedy as a hobby but the philosophies from improv soon carried over into my teaching practice. Those rules are “I’ve got your back” and saying “Yes, and…” to each and every student’s story. My goal as a teacher is to be a consistent, positive, and supportive figure for them on their educational journeys to become the best versions of themselves. It is so fun to use my improv skills for my student audience to create goofy stories in Spanish as students get fully invested in the creative process in the language and the learning happens without them even realizing it!”
Let’s check out Jeremy’s tools!
FOR 10 YEARS OUR SCHOOL HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE PULSERA PROJECT, a non-profit, fair trade service project that supports artists and families in Nicaragua and Guatemala. We have raised approximately $16,000 by selling these bracelets at lunch! Since many of our AP Spanish students are native or heritage Spanish speakers, it is meaningful to them to support individuals that represent their heritage in a colorful and unifying way. This project truly brings ALL students at our school together in solidarity. We received this beautiful hand woven banner as a thank you for our support.
- I LOVE USING EQUITABLE
GRADING PRACTICES to accurately reflect what students know and are able to do in however long it may take them. I consistently offer students the opportunity to revise and resubmit their work to highlight their academic growth.
- USING SIGN LANGUAGE for Spanish storytelling adds a visual and communicative element to the story which increases student engagement and aids with remembering the story details. And it’s effective to use for classroom management as it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the lesson.
I EARNED THE INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED GLOBAL SEAL OF
BILITERACY in English and Spanish by demonstrating an advanced level of Spanish fluency in both speaking and writing. This, plus
training for community interpreting practices, helps me have the back of Spanish-speaking students and their families. I’m also currently pursuing National Board Certification for Spanish, the only teacher in my county to do so.
TEACHING NEWCOMER ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS math is so fun with this great game. Students have to explain the solution to each card in English to reinforce those high frequency math vocabulary words that these students will see in ANY level math course!
USING THESE CONVERSATION STARTER SPANISH CARDS really helps establish and maintain a restorative approach to teaching in a classroom that is a safe, supportive, and positive place where EVERY student can be heard and valued.