Hi, my name is Bryan Hills and this is my 8th year teaching at Harrison Street Elementary School. I am very grateful to be back teaching at a school I attended as a student myself! I graduated from Illinois State University in 2011 with a Bachelor Degree in Physical Education, a Masters in Educational Technology and Special Education endorsement from Aurora University in 2017, and I recently completed my second masters in Curriculum and Instruction through Olivet Nazarene University. Throughout my schooling, I completed my student teaching at Geneva Middle School South and Western Avenue Elementary/Heartland. After graduation, I took on various substitute and long-term substitute positions in both the Batavia and Geneva school districts with a focus in the Physical Education departments and Special Education departments. I started teaching at Harrison Street in the Fall of 2014 and am glad to call this place my home!
Sports and fitness has been a big part of my life ever since I was a young child. Growing up, I loved to play anything that had a ball to hit or kick. I started to find my passion for physical education when I was sixteen. I had taken on my first role of coaching little league baseball and loved seeing these children develop their skills as the season rolled on. My interest for physical education continued to grow as I participated in an internship class during my senior year of high school. This was the turning point for me and I decided to work toward a degree in Physical Education. During college as well as after graduation, I was able to gain more experience through not only subbing, but also coaching various sports: 6 years of football (4 years varsity defensive line, 2 years 8th grade linemen), 2 years 8thgrade basketball, and 8 years high school track and field with 2017 being my 4th year coaching at Geneva High School as the head girls throwing coach.
Part of my philosophy for teaching is to introduce as many physical activities to my students as possible, so they will find an activity they can enjoy and pursue in order to become a lifelong mover. My goal is for our students to develop physical competence, cognitive understanding, and health-related fitness so he or she will adopt a healthy and active lifestyle.