Meet Mike Morrissey: From Elementary School Teacher to Senior Regional Account Manager

Mike Morrissey developed a passion for teaching and theater early in life. As a teenager, he taught improvisation, music, and theater to elementary and middle schoolers. Later, he earned a double major in both Elementary and Special Education. Now, he puts his experience to use helping clients access resources for their students as a Senior Regional Account Manager at HopSkipDrive.

Share your background and journey in education. 

Growing up in New England, I spent most of my high school career in the performing arts. I was given an early opportunity to teach music, theater and improvisation to elementary and middle school students. I loved spending time nurturing students’ passions, while helping them to understand the power of failure and its importance in the journey of improvement. I loved teaching theater and improvisation so much that I began to consider a career in education.

When college came around, I enrolled in a general education program at the University of Hartford, where I began tutoring high school seniors in both reading and math. By the end of my semester tutoring, I found myself incredibly disheartened by the low expectations put upon these students.I spent most of my time helping 15- to 18-year-old students with elementary reading levels trying to prepare for the SATs. Despite their ambition and hard work, it seemed as though they were not set up for success by their public education system.

After that semester, I spoke to my advisor, altered my trajectory and began a double major in both Elementary and Special Education. My ambition was to teach academic excellence from the beginning. I moved to Brooklyn, New York and began teaching my second-grade class about the importance of learning from our mistakes, being comfortable with failure, developing confidence and the idea of work hard, play hard. My goal was always to create a classroom where reading was a sacred time, difficult math problems were deeply discussed, where we always asked “Why?,” and where smiling, making friends and silly theater games were an extremely common occurrence.

What attracted you to HopSkipDrive and your current role?

In my experience as an elementary school teacher, I learned that the most important factor in a student’s education is consistency. A child will truly thrive when they arrive at school early, enjoy the social aspect of school breakfast, calmly put away their bag and jacket, and find their seat to relax before the teacher starts their morning lesson.

When a student arrives at school late, it can throw off their entire day. What should be a calm start to a day can turn into running after a bus, skipping one of your three daily meals, and entering into a classroom to find you have missed the introduction to the lesson — and you have 28 sets of eyes staring back at you. In both NYC and Los Angeles, I have always seen students and families struggling to acquire the resources that will get them to school on time.

Children need to arrive at school safely, consistently, and most importantly, on time! HopSkipDrive is providing a resource to the students and families who need that extra support. Schedules, timing, and resources aside, every student deserves to start every day with that calm and comfortable morning. 

I wanted to work in account management at HopSkipDrive so I could inform these school districts of the amazing resources that they have available to them through HopSkipDrive.

How do you feel your educational background makes you uniquely suited to your role at HopSkipDrive? 

As a former educator, I have seen the negative impact that tardiness and absenteeism have on a student's academic and social life, as well as their mental well-being. My goal is to provide schools with the resources that I wish I had access to as a teacher.

Can you tell a story in which transportation meant accessibility to greater opportunities, either from your own life or what you saw in your education career.

When I was growing up, I developed a strong love for theater and improvisation after I went to see an amazing play at a nearby professional theater. I was so determined to learn more and to get involved in any way that I could. I was very fortunate to have multiple theaters in the city, so I began auditioning, taking classes, improving and finding myself booking parts in plays and musicals all across New Hampshire and Massachusetts. I was even more fortunate to have a set of parents who would get me to and from those rehearsals, which could often be over an hour away on a weeknight.

I was able to discover my love of teaching through the opportunities I was given to teach theater. It was also through theater that I learned what it means to fail, to learn from my mistakes and to improve. If I didn’t have access to those opportunities that I was passionate about, I may have never developed those skills.

I would always advise my students’ parents to get them involved in as many activities as they could until their child found something that they are passionate about. I believe that HopSkipDrive is helping to create those opportunities for countless students every day.