Tanyia Hall

Tanyia found her muse early in life living in a rural community in upstate New York where she had time to wander the wilderness alone. Once the school bus dropped her off in the afternoon it was just her and the trees.  The trees were teachers, the inspiration for poetry and audience for her songs. She didn’t realize until much later that she was actually a songwriter and that her voice would be a very important part of her journey.

After graduating Magna Cum Laude from State University of New York she was recruited to be part of Teach For America, an Americorps program whose mission is to provide students in rural and urban settings an excellent education.  Working in our Nation’s Capital for 2 years was an eye-opening experience for Tanyia.  After her 2 year commitment in teaching, she went on to become a recording artist and toured the United States with songs that reflected an essential collective perspective of authenticity and empowerment. She eventually landed back in New York and worked as a Dual Campus Coordinator at Clearpool Education Center bringing students from Brooklyn to the Clearpool Campus in Kent, New York.  The mission of that program was to offer city children the opportunity to experience a glimpse of life in the countryside in all four seasons.

Eventually, she met and married her beloved Keith and they followed their dream of finding more inspiration by moving to Portland where she began Waldorf Teacher Training.  Once she had children she took a sabbatical and continued to be a community educator through music and education. She sought out a free public charter school that was in the country and found Woodland Charter School.  Tanyia‘s husband was the music teacher at Woodland for 3 years and both of her children graduated from Woodland.

Tanyia officially joined Woodland during the pandemic, teaching 7th grade for much of the 2020-21 school year, then 5th grade for the 2021-22 school year and now beginning the 1st-grade journey with the Evergreen Class.