Jessica Waters has been teaching at Beacon since 2008.  She currently teaches 11th grade Chemistry and 12th grade Human Anatomy and Physiology.  She holds a degree in Secondary Education, Biology and Chemistry from Rhode Island College.  Jessica is a member of Amgen Bruce Wallace Biotechnology Lab Program and the Rhode Island Science Teacher Association (RISTA).  Mrs. Waters was named Beacon Charter High School Teacher of the Year (and one of three finalists statewide) for 2012 Rhode Island Teacher of the Year.  She is the participating teacher for the SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) after school program.

Mrs. Waters believes that every student should be afforded an equal opportunity at learning which inherently requires her to continuously monitor students' progress and to intervene, when necessary, at the earliest possibility to effectively promote student success.  This belief requires that each student be considered as both "gifted" and of "special needs."  Successfully balancing career and family, she is happily married and the proud mother of three girls.

Click here for Jessica's State Teacher of the Year Blog...

In December, Mrs. Waters participated in a Teach for America Workshop Panel. This was the first of a series of events designed to gain knowledge about the complexities of the education system in Rhode Island and the steps taken to improve the quality of education from a variety of perspectives. The purpose of the series is to enhance awareness, build investment, and deepen the commitment of our corps members and alumni to be thoughtful citizens and leaders in the system and in our community.

Teach For America’s organizational mission is that “one day, all children in this country will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education”, one that is rigorous and puts students in under-performing schools on a level playing field with high performing schools through access to courses like IB, AP, and 21st century skill sets. As an organization, we work towards this by living up to our five core values (see Appendix 2), including Transformational Change. This is an opportunity for corps member and alumni from Teach For America, and members of the community to learn from multiple perspectives about Transformational Change, specifically, Where do we see pockets of Transformational Change in Rhode Island and what can we do to see more.

The panelists for this event were Maryellen Butke, Joshua LaPlante, Jessica Waters, and Ivy Barclay.  Mrs. Waters spoke about:

• What are the examples or evidence you see of breaking barriers for what’s expected of kids in your classroom and within the school community)
• What barriers to you see to achieving the idea of transformational change?
• What does Transformational Change look and feel like for each of you?
• What are you doing in classrooms with kids, families, colleagues, and what will it take for others?

What does Jessica do as Teacher of the Year?
Click here to see Jessica's schedule and travelogue. Click here to hide.