As we proceed through the back-to-school season, Eleanor Roosevelt High School welcomes two new additions in the English Department: Ms. Erika Tillery and Ms. Iyanna Dorn.
Located in Room 219, Ms. Erika Tillery currently teaches English 12 Honors and English 10 Comprehensive. Ms. Tillery is a proud alumni of the University of Maryland in College Park, having graduated in December 1991. She attended law school at the University of Maryland at Baltimore in 1994 and graduated in the spring of 1997. Before deciding to become a teacher, she experienced many changes in her career. She spent the last 30 years in law as a non-practicing lawyer in litigation support, case management, and project leadership. Ms. Tillery has also worked in healthcare and is currently an ordained minister.
Ms. Tillery is always learning, as she is currently taking Italian, German, and French. “Age doesn’t put any limits on you,” she highlights. Growing up in a family of griots—respected traditional West African oral historians and storytellers—has made Ms. Tillery appreciate the richness of language, dialect, and also colloquialism.
Ms. Tillery began reading at only three years old, encouraged by her mother, who was also an educator. “My mom taught me everything—handwriting to calligraphy. She packed so much into the 10 years I spent with her that it is still memorable even at 55 [years old].” Despite her illness, Ms. Tillery’s mother fulfilled her role as a parent and educator, studying classic literature and Latin, and encouraging Ms. Tillery to do so as well.
According to a student of Ms. Tillery, even though she has not been teaching for long, the opportunity to receive “her wisdom and be taught by her has been a really good experience.” Although she has only taught for a short amount of time, she has created a great relationship with her students and made learning a great experience for her students.
Apart from engaging students with intriguing lessons, Senior Rubi A. states that “she is very easy to communicate with” which not only is important, but also establishes that she cares for her students and their education.
The other addition to ERHS English department is Ms. Iyanna Dorn. She teaches English 10 Honors and English 11 Honors classes in Room 206. Her interest in teaching started in high school. Her high school allowed her to obtain not only a high school diploma, but also an associate’s degree in education. Throughout her academic years, she took many challenging classes and graduated from the University of Maryland with a 3.9 GPA and a bachelor’s degree.
While completing an internship at ERHS, she “fell in love with teaching high school.” Ms. Dorn expresses that she loves “the chance of freedom” of being a teacher.
“Being a younger teacher helps with being able to communicate with my students,” Ms. Dorn reflects. Showing students that she “was a person first and then a teacher” has helped develop her connections with her students.
Her interest in teaching started in high school. While doing an internship at ERHS, she realized how much she loved teaching the students in high school and decided that this career path was right for her. Now, as a new teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt, Ms. Dorn likes to try different ways of teaching, getting to know her students, and making sure they feel comfortable talking to her about anything.
With much intel on how Ms. Dorn came to the teacher, an 11th grade student of hers expresses that she always ensures she is constantly greeting her students throughout the day. Most importantly, she emphasizes there is communication between Ms. Dorn and her students, establishing a great relationship with her students. Her student also states that there is constant participation throughout her class, which makes her class intriguing.