Seattle Public Schools

Hello Graham Hill Community! This is my fourth year teaching 5th grade and I am excited to return for another school year. I am passionate about student progress and preparing students for the next level of education. I enjoy spending time with my kids, playing/watching sports and gardening. Thank you to the whole community for the work you have done on the pathway for our students' success!

2024-25 school schedule:

• Monday a.m.: Gatewood Elementary
• Monday a.m.: Louisa Boren STEM
• Tuesday a.m.: Arbor Heights Elementary
• Tuesday p.m.: Alki Elementary
• Wednesday: Green Lake Elementary
• Thursday a.m.: Graham Hill Elementary
• Thursday p.m.: Rainier View Elementary
• Friday a.m.: Southshore PreK-8
• Friday p.m.: Dearborn Park Int’l. School

I have been working in education since 2000 and I have been working at Roxhill since 2021. I believe every student has a story that can be told through writing, reading, mathematics, art, physical education, dance, games, and free choice time. Helping students to learn how to be critical thinkers about the world around them, helps them better learn how to express their own story, and voice. By sharing one another's story, we can learn even more about one another, to make learning fun, and improve our world. I love watching movies, playing card games like Uno, board games, and video games with my family, and friends. I also love nature, and hiking! Yo hablo español. - Mr. Perez

An SPS graduate and parent of SPS graduates, Gerrit Kischner has been the principal of Thornton Creek Elementary since 2021. Prior to joining the Thornton Creek team, Gerrit had the privilege of completing thirteen full years as principal of Genesee Hill/Schmitz Park Elementary in West Seattle, where he managed rapid growth from 316 students to 720 students and watched his first Kindergarten class graduate from West Seattle High School; at Genesee Hill, he became known for strong aligned curriculum, inclusion practices deeply embedded in general education, and positive community building, Gerrit served for four years as the assistant principal at TOPS K-8 School in Seattle.

His first love is teaching, beginning with community education projects in Salvador, Brazil, and including joyful experiences at Turner Middle School in Philadelphia Public Schools, RJ Grey Jr. High in Acton, Massachusetts, and the International School Manila. In 1996, he returned to his hometown Seattle to teach 9th grade Pacific Rim Studies and founded a nationally-awarded culminating project program (CAPstone: Citizen Action Project) at Kamiakin Jr. High in the Lake Washington School District.

As a district leader, Gerrit has served as President of the Principals Association of Seattle Schools and as the founding principal co-chair of the Peer Assistance and Review Panel of Seattle Schools (2016-2021). He is a graduate of Garfield High School (Seattle), Swarthmore College, and the Danforth Program for Educational Leadership at the University of Washington. In 2013, he completed work as a participant in the pilot of a National Board Principal Certification, and he is currently enrolled in the Educational Leadership doctoral program at Washington State University.

Publications:

"Shaping Global Classrooms" (with Nancy Bacon) Educational Leadership, October 2002

"Democracy in India: a curriculum for grades 8-10," World Affairs Council, Seattle (2003)

Co-author, "Teaching the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child." In O'Donnell, Daniel. Children are People Too. Anvil Press/UNESCO: Manila (Philippines), 1996.

I have been teaching at Coe Elementary School since 2017. I have both elementary and special education teaching endorsements from Seattle Pacific University. Before teaching at Coe, I had the opportunity to teach abroad in a British School in Thailand for two years. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, hiking, camping, and attending Seattle sporting events.