Erika Hiemstra is the current Vocal Music Director at Elkhorn Valley View Middle School in Elkhorn Public Schools. She also teaches private voice lessons at Crash, Bang, Boom, a local, private studio. Previously, she taught K-8 Vocal Music in Shelby-Rising City Public Schools. Erika holds a Bachelor of Music with a K-12 teaching certification from the University of Nebraska at Omaha as well as a level 1 certification in the Kodaly method, a specialized pedagogical approach to music teaching. She is also working on a Master of Educational Leadership from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
A clinical practicum in Louisville Public Schools as well as a year in Shelby-Rising City Public Schools revealed her love for collaboration and sense of community. She enjoyed sharing her students’ musical talents with not only her school through concerts and athletic event show cases, but members of the community as well with performances at local churches, senior centers, and the American Legion Center.
In 2015, Erika presented at the National Association for Music Education conference in Nashville, Tennessee alongside two of her colleagues. They shared their teaching experiences with collegiate members and other educators in order to improve current collegiate music education curriculum to better prepare first year music teachers. The three often get together to collaborate and share new teaching ideas.
Erika stayed connected to the Omaha community through her service as a member at large on the board of the Great Plains Orff Chapter and attended local workshops as well as conferences while teaching in Shelby-Rising City. Now that she is back in Omaha, Erika continues to support the community and collaborate with local educators. She is looking forward to another great year at Elkhorn Valley View Middle School!