Brigitte Tennis
Founder/Retired 2020 

Mrs. Brigitte Tennis is the founder of Stella Schola. A product of the Lake Washington School District, Brigitte attended the University of Washington on an academic scholarship, completing her bachelor’s degrees in Violin Performance and in Education (K – 12). Her master’s equivalency is in Education, and she has endorsements in all subjects. She started the school to elevate learning at the middle school level, to enhance retention by means of subject integration, and to create strong personal relationships in the classroom.  Mrs. Tennis' passion for teaching and learning is clearly evident in the curriculum and hands-on activities she created for the school!

Brigitte Tennis taught in the Lake Washington School District for 39 years, several of which were in the full time gifted program. Mrs. Tennis served as a FOSS science trainer in the district, as an official mentor for new teachers, and was acknowledged as a distinguished educator in Who’s Who For American Teachers in 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006. In 2004. Mrs. Tennis was selected as a DisneyHand American Teacher 2004 Honoree, and in 2006 she accomplished her National Board (NBCT) certification as a nationally recognized professional teacher of excellence in English. Mrs. Tennis contributed a chapter to a collaborative book Today I Made a Difference, and was featured in the best-selling book American Teacher, Heroes in the Classroom.
In 2015, Mrs. Tennis was inducted into the National Teacher's Hall of Fame, where she had the opportunity to meet with President Obama and Arnie Duncan from the Department of Education. Mrs. Tennis actively sought legislators to co-teach with her in the classroom, thereby creating an opportunity for lawmakers to get a real picture of public education. Additionally, Mrs. Tennis worked with the Department of Neurosensory Engineering at the University of Washington for six years, creating lessons for students and teaching a summer workshop for educators in the area of neuroscience. In addition, Mrs. Tennis taught high school credit Latin classes and took her Latin lV students to Italy as the culminating experience each year.

Mrs. Tennis is married and has two adult sons. She enjoys snow skiing, hiking, horseback riding, reading, music, dancing, gardening, spending time at the beach, and volunteering. Mrs. Tennis retired in the fall of 2020, but remains actively engaged in teaching Latin remotely, tutoring and serving as an online mentor to new teachers, and life coaching. Her personal motto is “CARPE DIEM” because she says that we should live life to its fullest because we get out of life what we put into it! Don't waste any precious minutes!