MrsJacobsonsLegacy

I have taught middle grades Language Arts, Social Studies, Reading, Leadership, Drama, and Integrated Studies. In addition, I taught one year of READ 180, 4th-8th grades. I spent 6 years as my school's Character Education coordinator. You won't find this position on any payroll; in fact, I invented it! I saw a real need in my school for a comprehensive, school-wide Character Education program. Luckily, my principal let me volunteer myself for the job! Each week, I create and send out a PowerPoint to my school's faculty with a lesson on some character building theme. These lessons are fully ready to be taught & do not require the teacher to do anything; not even preview it before teaching it! Every teacher in our building has a Reading class at the same time, and Character Ed is done each Friday during this class. Thus, 100% of our students receive Character Education & 100% of our faculty teaches it. The awesome part about the way this program works is that each teacher gets to put his or her own individual "spin" on the lessons through their own connections and insight. Students and teachers are building relationships, the kids love and look forward to Character Ed day, & the adults in the building are seeing the power of the impact it's making on our kiddos' lives.

My teaching style completely transformed during my 6th year teaching. (This was the school year after I became so involved with building Character Education... go figure!) I stopped seeing my kids as "students" and began to see them for whom they really are: people with important life stories unfolding. I began making connections between the content I was teaching and the events in our lives and... it worked! Kids were eager to come to my classroom because they got to talk about their lives and the things that were important to them... and along the way, they picked up some ELA content knowledge, too ;) Students find a safe harbor in my classroom because they know they will be given respect. Not because they've given it to me & in return have earned mine, but rather because of who they are: human beings who have an inherent right for respect.

I am a National Board Certified Teacher and have been given my school district's highest honor, the "Going the Distance Award," twice for my efforts building climate and culture through Character Education. My school implemented the Leader in Me program, and I was chosen for the Lighthouse Committee & serve as the teacher sponsor for the Student Lighthouse Team. I was also selected to be trained by Franklin-Covey to administer the Leader in Me initial training to any new faculty members we pick up along the way.

I graduated from Western Kentucky University (Go Tops!) in 2006 with a degree in Middle Grades Education. I loved Western so much that I graduated from there again in 2011 with a Master's Degree in Library Media Education.I attained my National Board Certification in December 2017.

I am first and foremost a Christian... God has been very faithful to me! I am blessed to have been on a honeymoon with my husband, Jeremy, since the day we got hitched! In my free time, I enjoy riding English Saddleseat, sending greeting cards, reading memoirs, teaching Sunday School, and homemaking. J & I also like to travel "home" to go see our families, especially our 8 nieces & nephews. We live in Shepherdsville, Kentucky.