Although this is only Kiernan Hodge’s 2nd year at AMS as our English Language Development teacher, she is not new to Ashland or to teaching. Kiernan grew up in Ashland, attending Lincoln Elementary and Ashland Junior High, before graduating from AHS. In 1991, she graduated from OSU with a degree in Spanish and taught in Ecuador for 7 years. Returning to the states in 1998, she taught in California for 3 years before returning to Ashland in 2001. Between 2001 and 2020, she was a reading intervention teacher, an instructional coach, a 7th/8th Language Arts teacher, and an English Language Learner coach in the Medford School District. What a fantastic resource for our students and our school!
Along with her husband, Tom, and her two dogs, Obie and Cleo, Kiernan loves hiking, lake kayaking, and reading. Additionally, she has a passion for beach volleyball, which she plays 3 times a week. Kiernan has a stepdaughter, Tory, who also lives in Ashland.
About teaching at AMS, Kiernan says, “I love the students! And it’s amazing what staff will do to support them. The new campus is wonderful, and I feel like kids really respond to it.”