Doing “Whatever it Takes” for students might look like dressing up in an astronaut costume, performing dance moves and songs at Spirit Days, providing literacy and math interventions to students during your breaks, planning different activities so that all students can participate in the art lesson, and countless other acts of service. These are all examples of things that Mrs. Charlsey Hillis has done this year for Springhill Elementary School!

She is new in her role this year as our Art teacher but she has used her classroom teacher expertise to excel in all areas! Mrs. Hillis is much more than just our Art teacher at Springhill. She has found ways to bring Literacy into her classroom through read alouds that go along with grade level curriculum units. She is an interventionist for countless students, and she helps in any area she sees a need. Mrs. Hillis offered to work one-on-one with a student before PROWL simply because she knew “that’s 10 minutes we can use to help her with what she needs.”

Mrs. Hillis even took the initiative to reach out to our special educators and planned specific and individualized art lessons for our students based on their favorite things. Some examples included fun painting activities and friendship bracelets.

Students can feel Mrs. Hillis’ energy and love for them, which builds so many positive relationships from Kindergarten through 5th grade. She is willing to offer a helping hand to other teachers at Springhill to ensure our systems continue to run smoothly. She brings so many fresh ideas and so much laughter when she busts out singing when she gets excited! Mrs. Hillis is a true Springhill StandOUT, we are so incredibly lucky to have her, and we are #GreenbrierProud to present her with a Whatever It Takes award.