Last year, Hingham High School welcomed an abundance of new teachers. One such teacher was Ms. Dollard, who is returning to teach at Hingham High for her second year this year. She teaches Level 2 and Level 3 World Literature for 10th graders. 

Ms. Dollard grew up in Rockfield, Maryland and went to The Academy of the Holy Cross, an all-girls Catholic high school. While there, she participated on the swim team and in the Spanish club, and was the editor of the literary magazine. She also served as a Student Ambassador, giving tours to potential new students.

Ms. Dollard went to Dickinson College in Pennsylvania for her undergraduate degree, and attended Brown University in Rhode Island for her master’s degree. She completed a duel major in both English and Spanish. 

As much as she loves her job, she didn’t always want to be a teacher. She says that as a teen her dream was to be a book publisher. However, when she looked into the career, she discovered that it lacked the creativity she was looking for in a job. After graduating, she became a college advisor, where she made friends with both Spanish and English teachers and discovered her love for teaching. She loves the creativity that teaching provides, as the freedom to choose one’s lesson plans makes her happy. 

Before working at Hingham High School, she worked at Fairhaven High School in Fairhaven, Massachusetts for three years. She decided to work at Hingham High School because she loved the feel of the building and “the high expectations and the culture of the building.” 

In her free time, she still loves to swim. Unsurprisingly, she loves to read as well. Hiking is also a favorite pastime of hers. If she wasn’t an English teacher, she says that she would love to teach Spanish. One fun fact about her is that she has traveled to five continents, only missing Antarctica and Australia. 

Ms. Dollard says that her favorite part of being a teacher is connecting with students. The thing that she struggles most with when teaching is giving good feedback on all of the essays that she has to grade during the year. 

Louis Vieria, one of her students described Ms. Dollard as “a nice teacher who isn’t the type of English teacher that gives 12 essays in a week.” Ms. Dollard says that she is excited to continue teaching at Hingham High School. She loves her job and loves what she teaches!