Teacher of the Week: Jill Tanner, Caney Creek High School

CONROE, Texas -- She's many students' favorite teacher, that's for sure.

Whether you're a fan of the arts or just enjoy a well-crafted pep rally skit, Jill Tanner is the creative spirit behind the theatre department at Caney Creek High School. She is the theatre teacher and the Drama Club sponsor. Jill has been a teacher in Conroe Independent School District for 19 years, and she's spent each and every one of those years teaching and molding young minds and performers at Caney Creek.

"Playing school was a favorite childhood game of mine, so I guess I should have known that I was destined to be a teacher," Jill said. "Actually, my grandparents were a huge influence on my career choice. Both were teachers, but my grandmother taught theatre and directed some One Act Plays. I have an engraved necklace that was given to her by her students and I like to wear it for good luck on contest days."

Jill's students are no strangers to theatre success. Just last week, her class traveled to the Renaissance Festival in Magnolia to perform "Taming of the Shrew" during their School Days event. So far this year, her students have also performed the wildly entertaining "Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood" for students and the community.

And when the CCHS Theatre Department isn't wowing local audiences or audiences in UIL competitions, Jill's creative side can also shine through in pep rally skits that get the entire student body full of school spirit.

Jill graduated from Sam Houston State University and was given the CISD Board of Trustees Ambassador Award in 2008 and was named Caney Creek Teacher of the Year in 2009 and 2013. Her students have gone on to continue theatre careers at universities around the nation. And after 19 years, she still loves finding a way that challenges and excites her young performers.

"A few years ago we created a teaching unit on character building that we call CSI, Character Scene Investigation," Jill said. "Students go to different tables that have clues (like photos, receipts, movie tickets, etc.) in clear plastic bags. Students look at the clues and come up with a person that would have owned all the items. They then come up with a backstory of the character and make all the items “clues” in the story. Then students fill out a missing person report on their character. The report includes a physical description of the character, a name for the character, and even who they might have been last seen with. So our students are creating characters (missing person report) and writing a monologue (the story of how the items are related) in the format that is like some of the investigation shows they watch on TV. The students love it and we get a lot of creative monologues out of the project."

And even with all the awards her students have won over the years and the awards she has garnered herself, Jill never wants her classes to forget the importance of theatre and the arts.

"I hope all my students will walk away from a theatre class with a greater appreciation for the hard work and collaboration it takes to produce art," Jill said.

When Jill isn't directing the latest theatre production, you can find her reading, sewing or traveling.

Conroe Today thanks each and every educator in our great community for truly being a hero.