Behind the Desk

Teachers' lives in and outside of academics.

Teachers and students have coinciding schedules that work around and with each other constantly. We all have teachers but how well do you know them and maybe you don’t know some of these teachers. Maybe it's a friend's teacher or maybe it's a teacher you’ve heard of but never seen. 

So let's get to know some of our teachers. 

Ms. Ellerbee And Her Students

Let's start with Ms. Ellerbee is a well known, loved, and respected teacher and she teaches the Business and finance program which she went to undergrad for. We talked to her as well as some of her students so let's get into it. Ms. Ellerbee has a very refined way of teaching; she shows her students the same respect they give to her while also learning so much. She has won 2 awards as an advisor for multiple clubs this school year, one for best advisor for FBLA and another for best advisor in Key Club. She truly stands out in the way she teaches and puts herself out there to her students. She lets them know they are allowed to have fun and be silly and make jokes while still being professional and learning as much as they can. 

About Ms. Ellerbee

These show a true reflection of Ms. Ellerbee and how much she loves and appreciates not just her job but getting to work with the kids. Ms. Ellerbee graduated from North Wale, a private University in Michigan. She is an only child and is very self motivated and self oriented. She started teaching in Detroit where she was influenced by the community and the need and wanted to give back and teaching seemed right to her. Then during college she had a kid which made her time management harder. She said it molded her and caused her to grow up faster and prioritize the important things. She constantly tried to find someone to watch him but it was a challenging task to where he went to class with her sometimes. She says she wouldn't have changed it though because it made her who she is and her lovely son. She says a fun little thing about her is her Starbucks cup of coffee gets her up and going every morning and through the day or she will make her own using the brand green mountain. She says she loves our school and would rate it on a scale from 1-10 and she said this “ 10 plus 20. I love it.”

Conclusion to Ms. Ellerbee's profile

After talking to two of her very appreciated and trusted students Isabella, and  Chris. They both said they have so much love and respect for her and her class she is a teacher everybody wishes to have due to her everlasting kindness and love for what she does and her students. Chris said this “As one of Ms. Ellerbees students i can say i love her and her class so much and i appreciate her deeply” And Isabella said this “What is there not to love about Ms. Ellerbee she is very involved and great with us” She says she loves this school so much in comparison to her other school and just in general that she hasn’t even taken a day off. And loves her classroom layout even though they can get rowdy and film goofy tiktoks sometimes. But in all that summarizes our information on Ms. Ellerbee and how her students view her as a teacher, a person and in general. So thank you Ms. Ellerbee.

Many students know Ms. Pham as a fun and helpful biology teacher. She teaches biology classes and also runs Student Council, or StuCo. She helps organize school events and works hard to make activities exciting for students around campus.

Before becoming a teacher, Ms. Pham attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. At first, she planned on becoming a pharmacist or doctor because of her interest in science. However, once she got to college, she realized that career path was not the right fit for her.“I originally wanted to be a pharmacist or doctor, and once I got into college, I realized I really liked science, but not so much being a doctor or pharmacist,” Ms. Pham said.

While in college, Ms. Pham discovered that she enjoyed helping other students learn. She spent time tutoring people and realized teaching was something she was naturally good at.“I realized I was really good at tutoring people in college, so maybe I thought I could be a good teacher,” Ms. Pham said.

Even though college came with challenges like balancing schoolwork and responsibilities, Ms. Pham stayed focused and continued working toward her goals. Those experiences now help her manage both teaching biology and leading StuCo activities at school. Students enjoy having Ms. Pham as a teacher because she explains biology in a way that is easier to understand and keeps students involved during lessons. Through StuCo, she also helps create school spirit and memorable events for students.