Jessica Full

Jessica Full of Winnebago is in her ninth year at Belvidere High School. She’s taught math for 20 years. An observer said though math can be hard, “students were engaged and wanted to learn and understand.” Others noted challenges she presented. The groups of students seemed energized, responding eagerly to competition. Jessica was nominated by people who praised her as a math teacher, but also as a leader and someone who’s available to help students academically and emotionally. Fellow teachers named her the “Pursuing Greatness Leader” at the end of 2020-2021 for regularly checking in, listening and advocating for others. One student, who has a 504 plan, wrote, “she took the time to understand me as a student and as a person. She’s always looking for ways to help students grow inside and outside of the classroom. I would love to have her as a teacher again.” Being bombarded for years by students asking when they’d ever use algebra got Jessica thinking about her typical response about the problem-solving skills they were using. “I am not convinced, in hindsight, that they were really learning the problem-solving skills I had hoped. This led me to making a commitment … to improve not only my instruction but our curriculum to add relevance and build engagement for all students.” Her commitment led to studying and to re-vamping her teaching model last year via the “Building Thinking Classrooms” model. This was a risk. It meant huge changes in her presentation and buy-in from students, families and colleagues. But the change is bringing results. Students have learned to think more to find answers to their own questions rather than to depend on her examples and responses. They work in groups to help each other understand concepts. Parents praise the changes. Jessica’s classes range from Extended Algebra 1 to AP Calculus. Principal Billy Lewis shared that the student passing rate for all math classes is at 85% after the first quarter, up from 70% at this point last year!  Jessica shares the methods she has implemented throughout the school and plans to continue to learn more to continue the growth. “The day I stop seeking growth as a teacher will be the day I retire.”