Author: Tanner Atha

“I still get goosebumps every time the rain hits the tin roof at Brown Elementary.” Intervention Teacher, Aimee Jordan has been tied to Brown for decades and has had three generations of her family be a part of the magic that takes place at this amazing school. It all started with her mother being an educator at Brown, with Aimee attending there and now her two daughters are students at Brown. She considers the staff at Brown a part of her family and Brown’s home. 

Aimee has dedicated a lot of her time and energy to making Brown a wonderful place for not only the students but for the staff as well. One of Aimee’s favorite Brown staff community-building events with staff are their weekly yoga classes. During yoga, the instructor weaves an intentional word throughout the practice for the staff to reflect on and take with them into their week. Aimee loves taking the weekly words into her week and using it to guide her as she connects with colleagues and students. 

Aimee is known as a “battery charger” for her colleagues and is always lifting everyone up as well as empowering them. Aimee enjoys charging her own battery by working out in the mornings. This allows her to be ready to love, serve, and care for each member of the Brown family. Aimee finds it imperative to prioritize both mental and physical health, so she can be consistently present with the needs of her students and coworkers. At Brown, she not only serves as the intervention teacher but is known as the hostess with the mostest. Aimee is always ready to plan a celebration or event for the Brown family and anyone in need of a dose of cheer. This isn’t surprising seeing that Aimee started her career in Hilliard at Heritage as a middle school teacher and cheer coach. Aimee brings the energy. 

If you visit Brown you will see Aimee engaging with the students. As she transitioned out of the classroom and into the support staff role, continuing to engage with children was a must for her. Being a mom of two Brown students drives Aimee to be her best self, it changed the way she taught and how she engages with families. Aimee exudes a passion for pedagogy and the love of her career. “You know you are doing something you are passionate about when you lose track of time.” 

The Art and Ecology class at the Hub is teaming up with 5th graders at Brown Elementary to work on the Rain Barrel Project. This project is a collaboration among Keep Hilliard Beautiful, The city of Hilliard, Coca-Cola, and Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation. Coca-Cola has donated used 55-gallon syrup barrels for this project, where students are performing design thinking cycles to customize the barrels for local Hilliard businesses and locations.

The students used spray paint and stencils to beautify the barrels and added all the hardware so they can become functioning rain barrels, thereby reducing water run-off and conserving water. In celebrating Earth Month on April 15th, Hilliard residents will have the opportunity to find all the barrels in a scavenger hunt and create their own free, custom-made rain barrels!

First-year engineering students at Davidson High School took a field trip to Old Hilliard, where they gathered data for their upcoming project. The class went to the Center Street Market outdoor seating area, where they “Reverse Engineered” the space. In other words, they documented the area and recreated it in their 3D software. The students proposed changes and additions to the space layout to Andy Teater, who came as a representative of the City Council to do a “client interview.” Having the mock client helps the students understand why the project needs to be completed and what the city council would like to see in response.

Today at Crossing Elementary, students experienced a fun day exploring different professions at their career fair. Thanks to Britney Warburton and Nikki Hursh the event was made possible for our students to have such a great experience. There was representation from fire, police, Hilliard Parks and Recreation, and more. A handful of Crossing parents were also in the IDC to share information about their careers with the students. The day was full of fun, exploration, and lots of dog pets!

Congratulations to these Embrace, Empower & Inspire Award winners, Latoya Spetnagel (Secretary at Crossing Elementary) and Gage Volbert (School Counselor at Washington Elementary).

“As school staff members we have to meet the basic needs of students before we can meet their academic needs. When a first grade student was in tears about his favorite pair of high top tennis shoes needing new laces, Latoya went above and beyond to assist him. After trying packing tape and everything in between, Latoya decided it was best to quickly run to the store, buy a new pair of shoe laces, and have the high tops ready to go for recess. Latoya did not get to experience the pure sense of joy and being cared for as the first grade student ran back to class and proudly announced, “She bought me new laces!” The student went from silent tears streaming down his face to pure joy. “Do small things with great love.” That is exactly what Latoya does everyday, with every student, without exception.”

“Mr. Volbert has made us feel welcome at Washington since before the school year even started. With a new kindergartener coming in with severe anxiety, he has always been someone our child is excited to visit and talk to about her feelings. Mr. Volbert has also gone above and beyond to support our family as we navigate resources to help our child not only at school, but at home too. He truly cares and has dedicated so much of his own time to helping us. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful guidance counselor caring for the mental and emotional wellbeing of our little girl. Mr. Volbert has embraced our family and made us feel heard and empowered. We are thankful for him making such a difference in our daughter’s life, and he is beyond deserving of this award.”

These staff members go above and beyond the expectations of the Hilliard Way and truly make a difference in our district. If you know a staff member that goes above and beyond their way to make a difference, you can nominate them for next month’s award by clicking HERE!

Each year Ruling Our Experiences (ROX) provides the opportunity to learn about the world of work by inviting a female community professional to engage with the group. This year, they invited Kelsey Lensman as the guest speaker. Kelsey graduated from Ohio State in Sports Medicine with original plans of attending physical therapy graduate school. During her senior year, she felt a pull on her heart that she had a different mission. After a life-changing year of training to step on a bodybuilding stage, she realized we are all more capable than we could ever imagine. This led her to start her own company EmpowHER, which is a company that works 1on1 with women all across the country in their health and fitness, as well as EmpowHER Events, which are all women’s strength-events for women of all ages and skill levels to step out of their comfort zone together. She is a 5x bodybuilding competitor, and 3x powerlifting competitor, and competes in many other fitness competitions to push her limits. She is currently preparing for Mission48 where she will compete in 48 fitness competitions in 48 states in 48 days to raise money for charity. She is the host of The Arena Podcast with Kelsey Lensman.