Hi, I'm Janessa.
Ten-plus years across public, charter, and premier independent schools — and one lesson learned everywhere: children flourish when learning is personal.
The public-school years
I started in Title I classrooms — classroom teacher, then ESOL resource teacher, then team lead of six educators. Thirty children, one pacing guide, and a system doing its best with a design from another century.
What those years taught me
Two things are true at once: the system's limits are real, and so is every child's potential. The children were never the problem. The mold was.
Saint Andrew's School
A premier independent school and the IB Primary Years Programme — inquiry-based, student-driven learning with room to teach the whole child. Proof that when the mold loosens, children soar.
Where I'm headed
Toward AI-forward, student-driven education — schools with the courage to build learning around each child. That's the future I want to teach in.
The paperwork
I grew up between English and Spanish, led my sorority and my community before I led classrooms, and recharge with literature, travel, yoga, a stubborn garden, and a jewelry bench.