Teacher of the Year Hopes to Drive Change
Hannah Hill Park 鈥�15, 鈥�18 MSE, an alumna of 黑料专区 who teaches third grade at in Indian Trail, N.C., is driving around in a new KIA K5 EX, a gift from Union County KIA. She has been promised another gift: a five-day, four-night cruise vacation, which she and her husband Payton plan to take over the Christmas holidays, and the Union (N.C.) County Education Foundation has given her $1,000.
All this — and, possibly, much more — has come Park鈥檚 way for being named Union County鈥檚 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year.
鈥淚鈥檓 so honored and excited to receive this award,鈥� said Park, who holds a B.A. degree in elementary education and an M.S. degree in education from Pfeiffer. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great credit to everyone who has inspired and mentored me, including my professors in Pfeiffer鈥檚聽Division of Education, my fellow Pfeiffer alumni, and my colleagues in the Union County Public Schools (UCPS).鈥�
Park stood out for going 鈥渁bove and beyond for our children,鈥� said Dr. Andrew Houlihan, the Superintendent of UCPS, who also praised her leadership, dedication, and commitment to Union County鈥檚 schools.
Dr. Laura Sawyer Lowder 鈥�02, an Associate Professor of Education, was one of Park鈥檚 principal professors at Pfeiffer. She called being named Teacher of the Year in Union County, where Park grew up, a 鈥渉uge honor鈥� for her.
鈥淗annah was nominated by her peers, was evaluated by district personnel, and was selected out of all of the teachers of the year in the district,鈥� she said. 鈥淎 district Teacher of the Year competes for regional Teacher of the Year and, possibly, NC Teacher of the Year.鈥�
Park, a native of Monroe, N.C., was destined to teach and to be a self-described of pedagogy. She is the daughter of a United States Army general whose travels took her to many places, each exposing her to a different school and culture.
She attended a magnet-based public high school in Monroe called . She enrolled in Central鈥檚 Teacher Preparation Academy her freshman year and began observing in various educational settings. She also did some student-teaching: During her senior year, she led a fourth-grade classroom in Albemarle, N.C. under Kristie Green Bryson 鈥�97, a Pfeiffer alumna who, like Park, majored in elementary education.
Bryson 鈥渢aught me almost everything I know about being a good teacher,鈥� Park said. 鈥淪he is an amazing woman who guided me and treated me like her own. I truly cannot express how I will be forever grateful and indebted to her.鈥�
The teacher preparation experiences were transformative for Park: 鈥淚 knew teaching would become my lifelong passion.鈥�
Also transformative was Park鈥檚 talent as a soccer player. After playing forward on a Central Academy team that won the NCHSAA Women鈥檚 State Championship her senior year, she caught the attention of Elijah Denton, then the of women鈥檚 soccer at Pfeiffer, who offered Park a scholarship. She played on the women鈥檚 soccer team.
In 2011, Park enrolled in Pfeiffer, where she would flourish in the Division of Education. In addition to Lowder, two Professors of Education — Dr. Christopher Boe and Dr. Ann Benson Crutchfield 鈥�77 — 鈥渟upported, encouraged and challenged me every step of the way. They instilled in me a sense of self-confidence,鈥� Park said.
Park鈥檚 student-teaching opportunities extended beyond schools, which included Central Academy: Lowder arranged for Park to teach at Pfeiffer鈥檚 summer STEM camps as well. Park also attended and/or presented her research at numerous national and North Carolina conferences.
The research that Park began at Pfeiffer remains an ongoing pursuit that informs her teaching. She鈥檚 adopted several cutting-edge instructional strategies in her classroom, including ; , which she illuminated at a conference for beginning UCPS teachers; and various forms of , aka 鈥渢hinking about thinking.鈥�
She supports interleaving: 鈥淩ather than asking students to retrieve similar types of information in one continuous session, apply the principle of interleaving, which mixes up content from different areas.鈥�
Park is a big proponent of , the practices of which are in the classroom. Through mindfulness practices, elementary students can improve their concentration, manage stress and develop more empathetic responses to others.
As a master鈥檚-level student at Pfeiffer, Park researched the effects of implementing mindful movements into the weekly schedule of a collection of third-grade students. She says the research showed that such practices both benefited the students鈥� health and wellbeing and contributed to their academic success.
Park wants to take her cutting-edge thinking to the next level by becoming an advocate for educational reform. She hopes that her Teacher of the Year award will help 鈥渙pen doors for me to get out of the regular classroom setting and move into positions where I can make a difference鈥� at the county, state and federal levels.
She wants to help end what she sees as 鈥渙utdated鈥� and 鈥渋neffective鈥� policies, particularly the 鈥減ressure to produce high test scores that lead to a teach-to-the-test approach and reduced focus on non-tested subjects like art.鈥�
Moreover, AI and related technologies have reduced the need for a curriculum heavy on repetition and memorization: 鈥淔or our students and our graduates to thrive in the age of smart machines, it is essential that they not compete with machines. Instead, they need to be more human.鈥�
Park stressed that she does not have all the answers but that 鈥渢ough discussions鈥� must begin to find them. Until then, her Teacher of the Year honor, which is rooted in the fine education she received at Pfeiffer, will be an asset as she starts 鈥渟preading the word to help people, especially our elected officials, see that we are educating our youth in an outdated format.鈥�
Ken Keuffel, who authored this article, has served as Pfeiffer鈥檚 Assistant Director of Communications since December 2019. He welcomes story ideas from Pfeiffer鈥檚 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends. The form for submitting story ideas is at Story Idea/News Item Request Form.