Hermina Morentsov
Credentials & Experience
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About
I grew up moving — eight schools across India by the time I finished primary, the daughter of an Army officer. Adaptability wasn't a value I learned, it was the air I breathed. Before teaching, I spent a decade running operations and process work for global firms — GE Medical Systems, Xansa — and trained as a Scrum Master. The classroom is a different room, but the underlying skills travel: clear plans, short feedback loops, a calm presence under pressure.
Today I hold a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction with a Reading Endorsement, and my practice is grounded in the Danielson Framework. I aim for classrooms that are warm and orderly in equal measure — places where a child feels known on the first day and where the academic bar is unmistakably high. Outside school, I volunteer with the Boy Scouts in Bellevue. The work, in or out of the classroom, comes down to the same thing: helping young people build the judgment and steadiness they'll need.
Teaching philosophy
Children learn best in classrooms where they feel calm, seen, and trusted to try. The teacher's job is less to direct than to create the conditions — clear routines, generous attention, honest feedback — under which curiosity and competence can grow.
I think a lot about the room itself. A classroom that's been designed with care — visually quiet, materials at hand, transitions rehearsed — gives back hours of instructional time the school year never returns. I bring an operations habit to that work: plans short enough to adjust, signals clear enough to follow, a steady presence so the class can be lively without becoming loud.
I keep academic expectations high and language explicit. Vocabulary is the bridge between what students notice and what they can do; I name it, use it, return to it. The aim isn't only proficiency. The aim is young people who can think well and treat each other well — the judgment and care they'll carry past the classroom door.
Credentials & certifications
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Washington State Residency Teaching Certificate
2024WA OSPI
Elementary Education (K-8)
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Bachelor of Arts in Education
2023University of Washington
Experience
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Sep 2024 — present
Substitute Teacher
Various · Seattle Public Schools · K-2, 3-5
Long- and short-term assignments across the district.
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Sep 2023 — Jun 2024
Student Teacher
Lowell Elementary · Seattle Public Schools · 3