Hi there! My name is Jess and I have been teaching English Language Arts (ELA) for 8 years. Pretty unbelievable. I still remember teaching a class of imaginary students in our family’s office when I was young. My parents still love to tease me about that…in my defense, Johnny definitely deserved those detentions I dished out.

I taught eighth grade ELA for 6 years, where I learned A LOT about middle school behavior. Hands down, middle schoolers are my favorite students to teach! Sure, they can be a little angsty at times, but they are also the most entertaining and genuine people. They truly want to learn and be inspired.

Currently, I teach sixth grade English Language Arts. I absolutely adore my little students, who are fresh out of elementary school. They need a bit more attention, as they are still developing their independence and confidence in a new school. Whether they are in sixth grade or eighth grade, though, I love working with middle school students.

In the last 8 years, I have developed countless lessons. Annoyingly, I am constantly reinventing the wheel, trying my hardest to engage the next group of students that I encounter. It truly annoys my husband! However, even he knows that my passion for teaching middle school revolves around creating relationships with students. In order to create those relationships, I invest a lot of my time in researching methods and designing lessons that will entice our ever changing students.

Do not get me wrong. Teaching middle school is no easy feat, but it’s well worth it.