Hi, I'm Jess-
J Reed for short. They/them pronouns, please and thank you (but that’s the least interesting thing about me).
I’m a Cancer/Leo cusp sun, Taurus moon, and we don’t know my rising sign because my time of birth isn’t on the birth certificate and I don’t talk to my mom. 🦀🦁
I live in DC with my spouse Carlo, our fur babies Dipper and Biscuit (yes we're those people), and about 800 square feet of apartment.
My tastes are vast and varied. On TV, I love Bob’s Burgers, Modern Family, One Piece, Only Murders, Abbott Elementary, and probably five other shows I can’t recall right now.
My current same food is a breakfast sandwich with maple sausage, an over-easy egg, and a little tabasco (not too much, Sal!) on lightly toasted bread.
I was laid off at the end of the 24-25 school year due to budget cuts and restructuring (and let's be honest, a little BS).
I sought a job that would allow me more autonomy than working in K12 schools and would give me the capacity to ✨have a life✨ outside of work.
Months went by. A few interviews happened, but none stuck. I felt a twinge of desperation– knowing that unemployment benefits don’t offer enough to pay all the bills, knowing my spouse and I need health insurance. I didn’t know what to do- how to finally listen to my body and mind while also hoping to find solid ground.
It came to me while on a walk.
Crunching on the fallen leaves, I reflected on my favorite aspects of instructional coaching.
One highlight was when I was able to help a teacher see a new way to address a problem of theirs. I thought “oh dang- I could offer this! One-time meetings to solve a problem of practice!”
The chill of fall was in the air, but I felt warm and cozy. It hadn’t dawned on me until this moment that I could just… do what I loved. I didn’t need to get a school or company to pay me to tell me how to do it.
SOUNDS MADE UP, BUT I’M DOWN!
I had a warmth in my heart and I messaged my sister to tell them that I wanted to start a business. It went like this:
How'd we get here?
I didn’t go to college to become a teacher. But teaching found me, anyway.
I was in high school when I first thought about becoming a teacher. I had a special interest in learning and felt good when I helped my friends study for a test or understand a concept they were having trouble with.
I spent my senior year in a teacher education program at our local Career Center and student taught in classrooms from elementary to high school. I even spent eight weeks interning with my own middle school history teacher learning how he taught–an experience I will forever hold dear (thanks, Mr. W!).
But when I got to college, the education program didn’t connect with me. The faculty didn’t talk about education in a way that excited me, and the building where the ed classes took place felt very “live, laugh, love.”
Fast forward through 9+ major changes (ADHD, who?) and as a combination history, psychology, and Spanish major I signed up for an alternative spring break trip to Nicaragua, teaching English and Spanish literacy to local students.
but in a small mountain town in Central America surrounded by coffee farms, falling in love with a chorus of tiny voices calling me “Teacher Jess.” 🥲
My legitimate thought when I realized it was, “Oh shit, I love this.”
I returned to Jinotega that summer for a twelve week internship, then back to the States determined to find a way to become a teacher. I had found my calling–bringing joy into language and literacy learning.
I got accepted into a teaching fellowship in DC, moved here in 2015, and the rest is history (well, English).
Throughout my ten years in DC public charter schools, I've...
worked with students from age 2 all the way to 24;
taught history, English, and math;
prepared young adults for the GED exam;
built a self-contained classroom and curriculum from scratch for students with Down Syndrome;
differentiated instruction for students in kindergarten through eighth grade;
started and headed numerous committees to improve school culture and teacher morale;
coached teachers of 3rd-8th ELA;
worn all of the hats as I juggled between substituting due to a vacancy, serving on an interim administrative team (and getting kicked off for having too many feelings 🤷🏼), and managing a toxic environment for staff and students.
Tl;dr: I’ve been in the trenches and I know what ego and bureaucracy does to stymie creativity and drive.