SPRING HILL, Fla. — This week's A+ Teacher always goes the extra mile for her teenage students.
Jill Phillips teaches Chemistry at Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School and she spends as much time on lesson plans as she does ensuring her students' emotional well-being.
In her 15th year at the Spring Hill private school, Phillips said it is important to engage with the student to maintain their interest.
What You Need To Know
- Jill Phillips is this week's A+ Teacher
- Phillips has taught Chemistry for 15 years at Bishop McLaughlin High School in Spring Hill
- More A+ Teacher Stories
“She is so fabulous that we have students who are in college and they are taking chemistry or they’re taking advanced courses like organic chemistry, and they still call her," said Sandra Wesdock, a Spanish teacher at Bishop McLaughlin, who submitted the A+ Teacher nomination for Phillips.
"She still tutors them, and that is just amazing. She keeps that bond with the students even when they go to college and they feel so comfortable with her. I admire how she’s so dedicated to the students. I admire the relationship that she has with the students.”
Phillips realizes Chemistry is by no means an easy subject.
"These are very difficult concepts," she said of teaching chemistry. "And students hear from their own parents how much they disliked chemistry when they were younger. So I try my best to make it fun to make it relevant to them, and to get concrete things they can see, so they can understand it a little better."
Phillips' class is one of the more popular ones on campus.
"I like the way she brings in everyday examples and fun things to keep the students' interest up," said Bishop McLaughlin Principal Camille Jowanna. "It makes them want to continue in science."
Phillips makes hands-on labs and experiments a priority in her class. But her motivational messages adorning her classroom walls outnumber the chemical equations.
"I talk to them," Phillips said. "And they know chemistry is difficult, so we struggle through it together, and as we're struggling, and working through the math, we chit chat, so we get to know them over the course of the year. What their strengths, their weaknesses, what they want to do, their aspirations."