Hillcrest Academy has announced its first-ever Dean of Students to help support school communications and culture.

Emma Brenneman will start in the role starting in the 2026-2027 school year. According to Hillcrest Head of School Nate Miller, Brenneman’s role will be to “support positive student relationships, student and parent communication, and school culture.” Brenneman will also work through discipline and attendance issues while supporting Hillcrest’s teachers with classroom management.

Brenneman explains why she’s taking on a new role at Hillcrest, “The Hillcrest community really just has this, I feel like it has this reputation for character and academic excellence while discipling, building the faith of the students there.  I’m just excited to join a school that not only has strong academic values, but it really just cares about the student as a whole. And that’s really important to me.”

Brenneman is a 2011 graduate of Hillcrest, and is currently serving as an Induction Coach with Grant Wood Area Education Agency. She holds a BA and MAT from the University of Iowa. She also earned a graduate certificate in Trauma-Awareness and Resilience in Educational Environments from Eastern Mennonite University and is currently enrolled in the University of Northern Iowa’s Principalship program.

 Brenneman previously taught middle school science at Clear Creek Amana and Mid-Prairie.