Service Learning at The Hill

Part of what love about teaching at Hill is the autonomy and freedom I have in the classroom to try new things. I've recently made the shift to a service learning approach with my AP sixth formers and I think it's been an absolutely life-changing in terms of the experience they have gotten in my classroom.

Courtney Neese's English 4 AP Literature class includes a service learning component in which students are paired with residents at a local retirement home during the winter term and elementary school students (first and second grade) during the spring term. For two days each week, Hill School students leave the classroom and step into someone else's shoes, building empathy and understanding as they learn about their partners and see life from a different perspective. In 2019, Mrs. Neese incorporated another aspect of service by taking her students to prepare and serve meals at a local shelter.