Graduate Alumni Focus | Marguerite Heebner, M.S.'25

I grew up in Perry County, PA, a one-stoplight county west of Harrisburg. I spent my first 8 years of school attending a two-room Mennonite schoolhouse with my brother and sisters. I continued on in public high school and then went to college. After graduating in 2015, I met and married my husband, and we began our own family in 2019. We have three children ages 6, 3 and 10 months and live in rural Franklin County, PA. Besides education, I enjoy serving on the leadership team at our church, helping lead our youth group, owning a small photography business, reading, and connecting with friends and family.

After graduating West Perry High School in 2011, I began my undergrad at Shippensburg University in Middle Level Education with dual concentrations in math and language arts. After earning my bachelor’s degree in 2015, I spent two years as a substitute and interim daycare director before being hired as a seventh grade math teacher with Washington County Public Schools in fall 2017.

During my first three years of teaching, as I collected experiences in my repertoire of teaching and reflected on them, I realized how much I enjoyed sharing what I was learning with my colleagues. As a third year teacher, my supervisor reached out to me and asked me to be a job-alike coach for new teachers. I designed professional development mainly to encourage new teachers and provide resources to get them on their feet, and I mentored them throughout the school year. 

My supervisor reached out to me again to share a new program Hood was offering at the time in mathematics instructional leadership, as it was the only college in the area that offered this type of degree. I felt that this was my niche in the education world, so in spring 2020, I decided to enroll at Hood and began my first class.

One of the earliest memories I have of a core moment leading to my career path in education was in seventh grade math. I remember participating in the pre-algebra lesson my teacher was leading and thinking of how I would teach it differently if I were the teacher.

Later on in high school, it was actually my 10th grade English teacher who inspired me to pursue education as a career. He had a way of connecting with kids that was sincere in a light-hearted way, and he always said “good morning” to me as I visited my locker each morning right outside his classroom over the course of four years. I knew I wanted to connect with students and make a difference the way he had with me.

Hood was the right fit for me for several reasons, one of which was the fact that it was the only college that offered a math instructional leadership degree. I loved the small class sizes, and the faculty are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. I enjoyed attending several extracurricular events as well.

While I began classes in person on campus, the mathematics department went fully virtual in fall 2020, and I couldn’t be more grateful. The flexibility of online courses along with easily taking leaves of absence when my children were born allowed me to keep my family first while pursuing my degree.

National Board Certification is the highest credential a classroom teacher can attain. It consists of four components that require teachers to showcase their skills in content knowledge, differentiation, comprehensive unit planning, contributions to their school and community, and their implementation of and reflection on both small and large group lessons. 

The process can take up to five years to complete. I chose to take a year off of my master’s classes to pursue board certification. While the one-year track is challenging, the end result of achieving certification was worth every hour I put into it! The process itself is the best professional development I have ever participated in, and I’m proud of this accomplishment.

My math leadership courses allowed me to be well prepared for the process of National Board Certification by keeping me up to date on pedagogy and mathematics content at the middle level. The core courses were particularly helpful because they prepared me to teach my students conceptually for deep understanding.

I currently hold the title of district mathematics lead teacher in my county, a role which allows me to design and lead professional development and coach new teachers while still having my own classroom.

I feel well prepared for this position because of the coursework I completed over the past year in my math leadership practicum classes. The assignments were not just busywork—I created plans that I’m now putting into action, and I feel confident in my leadership abilities.

One of my core beliefs in education is that relationships are the key to fostering real learning. I strive for a positive, healthy classroom culture all year long to provide students a structured, balanced environment in which all can experience failure along with success.

I ensure that my students know I’m there to help them, but that productive struggle is also going to be part of learning mathematics. I believe all students can and should be developing problem solving skills that will transfer to whatever their next steps in life are after leaving my eighth grade classroom.

You don’t have to be in a leadership position to be a leader. Leadership is a mindset more than it is a title you hold in the workplace, and your actions will always speak louder than your words. Education is not an easy field to enter at this time, but it is rewarding when you’re truly in it for the right reasons!

My husband and I bought our first camper last fall, and I’m excited to take our kids on trips this summer!

Inspired by Marguerite’s experiences or the math education presentation? Ready to #GOFURTHER in your career? Learn more about Hood College’s graduate programs, including the mathematics education M.S., by clicking here.