Dee Dee Hamlin, FHSD Staff, Ayer Elementary
Dee Dee and her husband, Neal, moved to Anderson Township 46 years ago. Their 3 children, Darcy, Dana and Phil, are graduates from Anderson High School. During their K-12 Forest Hills education, Dee Dee enjoyed being a parent volunteer. At Summit Elementary, she had leadership roles in many Arts Days, taught music in her children’s classrooms, and taught all 6 levels of “Everybody Counts”. For the district, she volunteered and served as President for the Forest Hills Instrumental Music Association (FHIMA). She was a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, the Anderson High School ”Blue Ribbon School” team, and the design team for Nagel and Turpin auditoriums. She initiated “Music for Children” which was a Scripps Howard grant for Ayer Elementary 2nd graders to attend Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concerts.
She received her music education degree from Oberlin Conservatory and did graduate work at CCM. Before joining the FHSD staff, she taught music in Elyria (Ohio), Amherst (N.Y.), IHM (Cincinnati, Ohio) and the University of Vermont Summer Music Session for High School students. Dee Dee joined the Ayer staff in 1993 as their general music teacher and choral director. She was a supervising teacher and mentor for Forest Hills teachers and CCM student teachers. In 1997, she was awarded FHSD “Teacher of the Year”.
As a private clarinet teacher, she has taught students of all ages in Forest Hills and other Cincinnati districts. Her students have participated in Solo and Ensemble contests, District Honor Bands, All-State Band, and Cincinnati Youth Orchestra.
Her community work has included volunteering with the Junior League, teaching Discovery classes at the Cincinnati Nature Center, and participating in the music and family ministries at Hyde Park Community Methodist Church.
After she retired from Ayer Elementary (2016), she taught as an Adjunct Professor in the Music Ed. Department of CCM. Currently, she continues to teach private clarinet and piano in her home. Because 3 of her seven grandchildren have attended FH, she continues volunteering in their classrooms. She volunteers with the band program at Nagel and the Forest Hills Marching Band.
“What is most fun and exciting for me as an experienced and lifelong (not OLD) teacher is that many of the parents of my students are my former students and friends of my own kids. It is a joy and privilege to stay connected as one big, thriving Forest Hills family!”
