It doesn’t take a detective to figure out Julie Hiltz’s philosophy of education.
The media specialist spells it out, quite literally, on a sign displayed in the media center at Lutz Elementary School.
Students coming into her domain will see a sign listing six declarations.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
“I believe in you. I trust in you. I will listen to you. I care for you. You are important. You will succeed,” Hiltz concludes the list by adding a red heart, followed by her name.
Apparently, Hiltz’s ability to help others succeed has helped her to be successful, too.
She received a Shine Award for her work in education from Gov. Rick Scott, during a spring Florida Cabinet meeting at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
She doesn’t know who nominated her for the recognition, but she believes the award may have been linked to her work as a Teacherpreneur, with the Center for Teaching Quality.
For the past two years, Hiltz has divided her time between Lutz Elementary and the Center for Teaching Quality.
“It’s considered a hybrid teaching role,” said Hiltz, an educator for 13 years.
As a Teacherpreneur, Hiltz has worked with teachers and professional development groups in Volusia, Seminole, Highlands, Lake and Escambia counties.
The hybrid approach gives educators a chance to keep a foot in the classroom and take on a leadership role, without having to leave the classroom entirely to become an administrator, she explained.
The idea is to find ways to keep good teachers teaching by providing an avenue for them to help shape education beyond their classroom’s walls, she said.
“We want to find a way to keep good teachers in the classroom. There’s got to be a way for them to have some kind of additional influence and additional challenges, without saying ‘You need to go into administration,’ ” she said.
In some ways, teaching hasn’t changed much over generations. Teachers go about their day teaching, mostly in isolation, she said.
“We pass each other in the hallway, but we’re not able to get into one another’s classrooms to see people teaching, to find out what they’re doing,” she said.
“As a teacher, you don’t know (that) what you’re doing is spectacular or wonderful. You just assume everybody is doing it,” Hiltz said.
“Maybe they’re just this one step away from being a master teacher. Maybe there’s just one thing, if they added, would take them to the next level,” she said.
The Center for Teaching Quality celebrates effective teachers, encourages them to share their expertise and offers opportunities for growth, she said.
Hiltz said she has enjoyed her experience as a Teacherpreneur, noting that besides working with teachers and professional development teams, the experience also gave an opportunity to broaden her understanding of state funding, policies and regulations.
But after a two-year stint in that hybrid role, she’s ready to return full-time to Lutz Elementary.
She said she wants to use her skills to help both students and teachers.
The use of technology has changed the delivery of instruction, she said.
In her work as a media specialist, she said, “there’s been a lot more emphasis of not just book circulation and literature appreciation, but research skills, accessing online resources, using the technology that they’re using in the classrooms — providing support for that.”
In an increasingly digital world, students take in information differently than they did in the past, she said. There’s also been a shift away from rote memorization and an increased emphasis on being able to solve problems, in multiple ways.
Despite those changes, though, Hiltz believes the key to effective teaching remains the same.
“It goes back to basic relationship building with your students,” she said.
“Early on, I had a mentor who said, ‘Kids don’t care what you know, until they know you care,” Hiltz said.
It’s important to find a hook to engage students in a lesson, she said.
But it goes deeper.
“You’ve got to find what motivates them and why they’re going to care about what you have to tell them,” she said.
“The students in your rooms have different needs. They learn different ways,” she said.
And, while it’s hard to watch students struggle, that’s part of the learning process, Hiltz added.
“They need to know it’s OK to make mistakes. They need to know how to treat each other and, frankly, how to treat themselves,” she said.
Hiltz said she was honored by the governor’s award.
That recognition, however, appears to be icing on the cake for the educator.
“I love my job. I cannot imagine doing anything else,” Hiltz said.
Published June 3, 2015