My name is Hannah Sherry and I grew up and am originally from Wisconsin where I lived for 22 years. Both of my parents have degrees in Education so I always kind of knew that I wanted to work with children. In college, I spent 3 summers working in leadership as a camp counselor at Sugar Creek Bible Camp in Ferryville, WI. During the school year, I would babysit and nanny as I could and I was also a Sunday School Teacher at the church that I attended.
I graduated in 2020 from the University of Wisconsin Madison with my BSE (Bachelor of Science-Education) in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis in English as Second Language. I’ve taken 30 credits of Spanish while at UW-Madison and I studied abroad for a semester in Granada, Spain. My student teaching experience was in a first-grade bilingual (Spanish and English) classroom!
Since moving to Eugene in late summer of 2020, I was a full-time nanny for (at the time) a 6-month-old until September of 2022 when they were transitioning to daycare. That’s when I started substituting for lead teachers at the Co-op. During that time I really got to know the school, the students, and the teachers, and I knew that I wanted to become a lead teacher.
Educational Philosophy:
During the teacher program at UW-Madison, we were exposed to many educational philosophies in our classes. We took trips to different centers and schools around Madison. I remember learning about Reggio Emilia and going to the Preschool of the Arts, which is a school similar to the Co-op, that is also inspired by Reggio Emilia. I was in awe of the center and I loved the elements of the philosophy but struggled to see how I could incorporate that into life as a public school teacher. I always thought of myself as a public educator but with the pandemic and moving my career path changed just a little. At the Co-op I’ve found the place that allows me to be the best version of myself as a teacher where I have the space to learn and grow alongside the children.
