The Glenn School Board and the Staff-Parish Relations Committee of Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church are pleased to announce the next Director of The Glenn School for Young Children, Ms. Hannah Ellwood!
A special thanks to our Search Committee as the search process was intense with several amazing applicants with a wide variety of remarkable experiences and leadership. The reputation of the Glenn School for Young Children attracted strong candidates!
Hannah says, “I am excited to serve as Director of the Glenn School for Young Children. A resident of Druid Hills and a native of the neighborhood, I grew up with children who attended Glenn School for Young Children. Later, I attended Emory University, and as a member of the University Chorus, performed in the Glenn sanctuary. Glenn Church, the community it creates, and the children it educates have always been a part of my life. I am excited to support teachers in the practice of educating young children as well as connecting with families so that all children and community members are seen, understood, and supported. As a long time teacher, working with a variety of age groups, I have always found particular joy in and with young children. The energy, enthusiasm, and wonder of young children are infectious and fun, and I look forward to the opportunity to engage with your young students each day.”
Hannah is a graduate of Emory University (BA in Latin, American, and Caribbean Studies and BA in Spanish) and Georgia State University (MAT in Early Childhood Education) and is completing the Institute for Engaging Leadership of the Friends Council of Education.
A dedicated and experienced educational leader with a proven track record in spearheading transformative learning experiences, Hannah has adeptly managed instructor recruitment and retention, while fostering inclusivity and institutional growth across multiple leadership domains. Her extensive service in primary education, with an unwavering commitment to curating progressive and mindful environments that empower students to flourish, complement the mission and vision of The Glenn School for Young Children. Hannah’s teaching experience at The Friends School of Atlanta, The Paideia School, and the Wilmington Friends School (Delaware) provided the classroom experience to design and deliver developmentally appropriate curriculum across reading, writing, social studies, and science content areas, carefully balancing play with thoughtfully distributed educational programming.
As a teacher and administrator, she strives to build a culture of open and constructive communication with parents to create an enriched environment ideally suited to the continued growth and empowerment of young students. As the Director of the Summer Camp Program of The Friends School Atlanta for five years - including leadership through the pandemic – Hannah organized and orchestrated a dynamic STEAM-focused summer camp program catering to the educational and creative needs of 450+ individual participants each year, as well as hired and managed the staff- both long-tenured educators and youth counselors- creating a committed community of educators. With her leadership, the Summer Camp grew enrollment by over 25% during a 4-year tenure by implementing effective, year-round grassroots marketing strategies and cultivating strong camper loyalty, resulting in consistently high return rates for both the staff she led and the campers and families new to the camp and school.
Hannah’s passion for learning environments that are inviting, warm, and accessible to a diversity of people and her experience in The Friends School with an inclusive spirituality and “seeing God in all” with values of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship, go hand in hand with Glenn School as a ministry of Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church and the vision of The Glenn School for Young Children to enable each child to develop at his or her own pace by providing a well designed play-based, balanced program; nurture each child and their family through the preschool years, and lay a strong foundation for a confident, responsible and caring learner.
Hannah enjoys walks with her family through the Druid Hills neighborhood and the Emory campus and looks forward to meeting families on the Glenn playground or at the upcoming Glenn Gala before she joins our Glenn Church staff this summer as the Director of the Glenn School for Young Children beginning the 2024-2025 school year!