Ten years ago, Jessica Meyers first entered a Grace Montessori School classroom as a substitute teacher and was amazed. The classroom was designed for peaceful activity, and she had never seen a student-teacher dynamic that harmonious. Now, Jessica is an elementary-level teacher and inspired by children fulfilling their inner drive to work and learn.
Jessica discovered while working as a part-time nanny that she loved being around children. Coupled with her passion for learning, she knew she was born to teach She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications and her master’s in elementary education from Cedar Crest College.
In addition to being a state-certified teacher, Jessica has an AMS Elementary I credential from Princeton Center for Teacher Education and a Certified Dyslexia Practitioner 2 credential from Children’s Dyslexia Centers.
She believes the most valuable facet of Montessori education is the concrete materials that represent concepts often taught abstractly in traditional schools. Teachers use real-life representations to explain parts of speech, timelines to display history, and real plants to teach botany terms.
“The individualized nature of how we are able to teach is the ideal in education. Children learn independence and responsibility in Montessori classrooms, as they are expected to be independently working on assignments when not directly working with a teacher,” reflected Jessica.
A love of learning is integral to lifelong education, and Jessica supports spontaneous research in her classroom. Thanks to the ability to control her schedule and curriculum, she can explore student interests and questions when they arise. When the students are excited about learning something new, Jessica encourages them to take the time to find the answer until they feel satisfied.
“It’s a tremendous responsibility to be accountable for someone’s entire elementary education, but so incredibly rewarding to see the amazing individuals they grow into,” said Jessica. “The feeling of family and community at our school is my favorite aspect. I truly love the people I work with. Because we have many of our students – and their families – for many years, they become part of that family as well.”
Interested in learning about Grace Montessori School’s elementary program? Click here for more information.
