2021 Extraordinary Educators: Sheila Hernandez

Great communities have great schools. High Point Schools Partnership creates impactful connections between our schools and the wider community to ensure students and their families are supported and can reach their full potential in High Point schools.

Part of High Point Schools Partnerships’ mission is to improve the image of our schools through storytelling. Who better to tell the stories of High Point’s schools than the people experiencing it first-hand? In this series of eight articles, we will highlight our 2021 High Point Extraordinary Educators as we dive deeper into what keeps them motivated in the face of constant challenges.

Sheila Hernandez

Sheila Hernandez has been a dedicated educator at Shadybrook Elementary School for 21 years. The close friendships she has developed with her “colleagues, students, and families of students” is a network that she loves and continues to foster as she stays at Shadybrook.

George Green, Shadybrook’s principal, says Mrs. Hernandez is “friendly, considerate of others, thoughtful, organized, and reasonable” while “always ensuring that students are excelling academically, socially, and emotionally in her class.”

Her teacher assistant states Mrs. Hernandez “embraced the challenge of remote learning, which included Canvas planning, and thought outside of the box in order to give their kids the best possible learning experience.”

Q: What inspired you to become an educator?

A: My mom and aunt would often say to me that they thought I would enjoy teaching. I was not so sure, but I eased my way in as a teacher assistant. After a few years, I decided they were right, so I went back to college for my teaching license.

Q: What’s your teaching/leadership style?

A: To learn every day and have fun while doing so! To see students as individuals before I see them as my class.

Q: Do you have a classroom motto or philosophy you abide by? Why?

A: We may not all learn at the same pace, but we will all learn. I believe it and it helps set my students up for success.

Q: What’s your favorite part about every day?

A: Seeing my students and observing them learning, growing, and becoming confident in themselves.

Q: What’s your most memorable moment as an educator?

A: I love the experiences when students have those “light bulb” moments when the concept of what’s been taught actually clicks and they understand and are so excited that it glows throughout their whole body!

Mrs. Hernandez wants all of her students “to succeed, to achieve and become the best they can be.” She says it’s always her goal to “help any way possible” and to help students experience learning as “something that’s fun and exciting.”

Thank you so much to Sheila Hernandez for your dedication to High Point’s students. Congratulations on being selected as your school’s 2021 Extraordinary Educator!

To find out more about High Point Schools Partnership and our work, please visit our Facebook page and check out our page on Guilford Education Alliance’s website.

Article written by High Point Schools Partnership Staff