I am so very excited to bring my teaching experience at Stanley Boyd and meet all of my wonderful students. I am also looking forward to getting ready for the Elementary Christmas Concert this December.”

Hannah DeYoung, Elementary Music Teacher

The first teacher featured in our weekly teacher feature is Elementary Music teacher, Hannah DeYoung, a twenty-three-year-old originally from Wausau, Wisconsin who graduated in 2022 from the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire with a Bachelor of Music Education. She is a self-proclaimed Wisconsin girl with a love of cheese curds and baseball (Go Cubbies!)

Ms. DeYoung, an only child, stays connected to her family that includes many cousins. She comes from a family of educators who have been supportive of her musicianship and teaching journey. “It is a huge source of comfort to know how much I am genuinely loved by my parents and appreciate all they have provided for me growing up.”

In her free time, Ms. DeYoung enjoys watching the tv show, Blue Bloods, and also leads a church choir in Eau Claire. “I am so very proud of the community we have built there and the musicians that I get to work with every week,” she says.

Ms. DeYoung’s favorite genres of music are jazz, pop and the oldies. She has always been a fan of “the First Lady of Song” jazz artist Ella Fitzgerald so it’s fitting that her favorite song is one that started Ms. Fitzgerald’s national breakthrough, “A- Tisket A-Tasket.” She explains, “Ella's take on this familiar nursery rhyme definitely highlights her exemplary scat singing and three-octave range.”

Ms. DeYoung is talented with the ability to play many instruments that she can share with her students at Stanley-Boyd. She has been playing flute and piccolo since sixth grade in a variety of settings including accompanying choirs for her school district, at solo ensemble festivals and at her church for Sunday service.

 She remarks, “I am so thankful for my college education which allowed me the opportunity to expand beyond my piano and guitar skills and learn a vast amount of instruments that I will be teaching in my classroom. My main instrument is voice and I have performed in the WCDA All-State Collegiate Choir, WSMA Jazz Ensemble, WSMA State Honors Choir, and the ACDA Division Conference Honor Choir as well as the ACDA Regional Honors Choir. I was also selected to be a part of the ACDA National Honors Choir singing alongside the Mormon Tabernacle Choir under the direction of Elena Sharkov.”

Ms. DeYoung is experiencing the newness of school right alongside her students as this is her first-year teaching. She shares, “I am so very excited to bring my teaching experience at Stanley Boyd and meet all of my wonderful students. I am also looking forward to getting ready for the Elementary Christmas Concert this December!”

 On why she chose to teach at Stanley-Boyd her first year, she says, “My student teaching experience in a more rural town showed me the importance of having a strong sense of school community which I know Stanley- Boyd School District values. Collaboration with students, families, and the community is an important factor to me. Besides wanting to be in a strong community, the district values also stated that faculty should be challenged in their interactions and with their work on a daily basis and I love to continuously learn and grow in the things that I do.”

Ms. DeYoung has high hopes for her students and classroom for the upcoming year. “I believe my role as a teacher is to be a servant leader that expresses patience, guidance, and management for my students. In my content area of music, I feel it is most important for my students to understand the importance of immersion of music into their everyday lives.  Music is so emotional, expressive, and thought-provoking- a unique way to view the world. I hope to be able to teach music so that my students can make their own music.”

Ms. DeYoung is inspired to direct her students on their musical journey through many the experiences that have shaped her own life. She says, “The many benefits I have received through music - personal growth, friendships, and an outlet for self-expression - compel me to share these gifts with students. As a teacher, I am able to make this world a better place by improving the lives of my students. In turn, these students will improve the lives of everyone who hears their beautiful music. Guiding students in their music journey is the most fulfilling experience I have had professionally.”