Megan Hill, oo ah macallin fasalka afraad ka ah Dugsiga Hoose ee Groveland, ayaa loo magacaabay mid ka mid ah 31-ka arday ee semi-finalka u soo baxay abaalmarinta Macallinka Sanadka ee Minnesota 2025. Hill waxay wax ka dhigtay Degmada Dugsiga Minnetonka muddo 16 sano ah, waxayna sidoo kale tahay arday dhigata Dugsiga Hoose ee Excelsior, Dugsiga Dhexe ee Minnetonka West iyo Dugsiga Sare ee Minnetonka.

“I was shocked, honored and privileged when I found out I was nominated,” shared Hill about the Minnesota Teacher of the Year process. “I am in a pool of such excellent teachers from across Minnesota, and to be nominated from Minnetonka is especially meaningful. I am swimming alongside so many high-level, bright and wonderful teachers here.” She was Minnetonka’s elementary-level teacher of the year in 2024. (Watch the celebration video here)

Hill’s journey to her fourth grade classroom has been filled with a variety of teaching experiences. After studying biology and philosophy at Bates College for her undergraduate degree, she began her master’s in philosophy at the University of Minnesota. It wasn’t the fit she was hoping for, and one day on campus, she saw a line of preschoolers walking with a teacher toward the UMN Institute for Child Development. “I followed them back to their classroom, and they inspired me to change my major,” said Hill. 

She went on to study and then work at the Institute for Child Development, where she was an instructor working with both young children and undergraduate student teachers. “I had such great access to teaching professors at the U, and I was able to ask so many questions and be part of research,” she shared. After teaching at the Institute for Child Development and then raising her own children, she pursued a second master’s degree in elementary education from St. Catherine University. She was hired to teach for Minnetonka Public Schools, her alma mater, after completing her degree. “I bleed blue and white,” said Hill, “and I was so proud when I got that call with the opportunity to work here!”

Hill began her time teaching with Minnetonka Schools at Minnewashta Elementary. She taught fourth grade there for two years before moving to a Deephaven fourth grade classroom for seven years, and then she moved to Groveland.

“Megan is the type of teacher that is universally loved by students, staff and parents. She puts in the extra effort to get to know her students and her families,” shared Andrew Gilbertson, Groveland Elementary Principal. He noted that Hill makes a point to connect with her students and families early in the year each fall, so that she can understand how to best build rapport with and meet the instructional needs of each student. 

When asked about her favorite aspects of teaching, Hill glows. “It’s a myriad of things—the fact that it’s a challenge, that it’s always changing and I’m always learning and growing,” she shared. “The kids in front of me are different each year, and so I never repeat a lesson. I love that process, the striving to get better. If I think I have it figured out, that’s when I’d know I need to stop teaching, because there is always a new way to make a lesson engaging, to keep kids enjoying the learning.” 

She loves to see her classroom “humming,” she explained. “I love when I can step back and watch students connect in small groups or pairs—being the ‘guide on the side.’ To look around a classroom and see 25 readers engaged in what they’re learning, or in a science class, getting their hands dirty—there’s nothing like it.” 

"Megan si aan kala joogsi lahayn ayay ugu dadaalaysaa guusha ardaydeeda oo dhan," ayay tiri Gilbertson. "In kasta oo ay sannado badan ahayd macallin khibrad leh oo guulaysata, haddana waxay had iyo jeer baranaysaa siyaabo cusub oo ay ula macaamili karto oo ay wax ugu bari karto ardayda fasalkeeda. Xiisaheeda horumarinta ayaa ka muuqda dabeecadda wanaagsan ee ay maalin kasta la timaado dhismaha."

Hill waxay u mahadcelineysaa macallimiinteeda isku fasalka ah iyo maamulayaasha iskuulka, kuwaas oo ay sheegtay "inay had iyo jeer kor u qaadayaan ciyaarta, mar walbana waxaan dareemayaa taageeradooda." 

Kuwa ka fiirsanaya inay noqdaan macallimiin laftooda, waxay ku dhiirigelisaa inay horumariyaan xirfadaha dhegeysiga iyo fiiro gaar ah. "Baro sida loo ururiyo, adigoo ku sii jiraya dhaqamada ugu wanaagsan, si aad u tijaabiso waxyaabaha kuu shaqayn doona. Inta soo hartayna ha dhinac u jeestaan," ayay tiri Hill. "Isku soo dhawee shaqada - maaha inaad kaamil noqoto, laakiin inaad joogtid. La qosol carruurtaada oo farxaddaas keen, sababtoo ah carruurtu way dareemi karaan. Waqtiyada ay carruurtu ogaadaan inaad aragto - xiriiradaas la isku halleyn karo ee aad la dhisto carruurta - waa marka aan ogaado in tani ay tahay xirfad sixir ah oo aan qof walba la kulmin, waanan uga mahadcelinayaa." 

Thank you for everything you bring to Minnetonka Public Schools, Megan! Our community will be cheering you on as the Teacher of the Year process continues.