Elsie Kushner with ZSD since 2007 Vocal Music Instructor  BA Music Education Endorsements: General Music, Choral Music, Instrumental Music

Mrs. Kushner’s Bio

Elsie Kushner is our new Zillah Choir Director bringing with her 14 years of public school music teaching and 15 years of private piano and voice teaching.  She previously taught Choir, General Music, Art, PE, Computer Lab, and Drug/Alcohol Awareness for the West Valley School District from 1994 – 2007.  Kushner is a 1993 Graduate of Central Washington University and also attended Seattle Pacific University from 1972-76 following her high school graduation from Sunnyside in 1972.  Mrs. Kushner holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education plus 90 credits and is Certified K-12 with Endorsements in Choral, Instrumental and General Music.  She has also coached tennis for West Valley High School and Middle Schools and will also coach for Zillah High.

Some of Mrs. Kushner’s achievements include the recording her own original Gospel Album in 1987 which aired on local Christian radio for several years.  She performed many solo concerts and served as praise team leader for 2 Yakima area churches.  Elsie also enjoyed co-producing several television & radio jingles for Yakima area businesses in the late 1980’s.  More recently her passion has turned to Tennis!  After 6 years of competing in USTA tournaments in the Pacific Northwest Division both in singles and doubles, Mrs. Kushner recently reached the highlight of her tennis career by earning second place with her Women’s Team at the Pacific NW Sectionals in SunRiver Oregon last June.  This bumped her USTA rating up to 3.5 which she was quite excited about.  She also had previously won 2 Champion Singles Titles and 2 Mixed Doubles Titles competing in Yakima Tournaments over past years.  One additional achievement Elsie is proud of is summiting the South Sister Volcano in Oregon with 5 family members in 2005. 

Mrs. Kushner has two children, a son 29 and a daughter 25 plus 2 step children ages 21 and 19 along with her husband Mark whom she married three years ago.  Mark and Elsie met on the tennis courts in 2002 and still enjoy playing several times a week as well as hiking in the mountains, traveling, and lots of family events.  Please get to know Zillah’s new Choir Director and you’ll understand why she loves her job of teaching music so much!