Jessica May

By Brendan Henry
The Surveyor

Editor’s note: This article ran in last week’s newspaper with an incorrect photo of Jessica. Our apologies to her and her mom!

Jessica May, a Family and Consumer Science teacher at Turner Middle School is one of seven teachers in the state of Colorado nominated for Colorado Teacher of the Year.

From the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), “Each year, the Colorado Teacher of the Year Program honors an exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable and skilled K-12 classroom teacher to represent the entire profession in the state. The selected teacher will automatically become Colorado’s nominee for the National Teacher of the Year competition.”

Unsure of who actually put her up for nomination, May said the application process was a long one—taking about five hours to answer a slew of questions and the submission of a video. May does not know what the criteria are but is very happy to be in the final seven.

Growing up in Loveland, May has been in the district for a while. Her teaching career began in 1997 at Bill Reed Middle School, taking a break after a bit to raise four children. May has been back in the teaching game for 13 years, teaching everything from math, science, social studies, social-emotional learning and now Family and Consumer Sciences which she says is a mesh of everything else she has taught.

“They’re writing, they’re researching, they’re budgeting. They’re going to be writing to the community to ask for donations, money to buy these things (to renovate the old classroom) and then to help them paint and replace and all kinds of stuff,” May said when describing what her class involves.

Teaching practical skills has not lessened the nominated educator’s workload though, as May said instead of grading essays like she did as a language arts teacher she is doing a lot more research and lesson planning on top of being more hands-on.

“I’m never sitting at my desk. I’m never grading. I’m never checking emails. I’m focused on the kids,” May said about her experience when teaching her class.

She describes herself as a “warm demander,” loving her students but demanding they give their best effort every day. Knowing that middle school is a difficult period for most students, May looks to establish trust and respect in her classroom while also pushing them to achieve.

Forming positive relationships while also demanding effort is no easy task with the middle school crowd and May does not take all the credit for her proficiency in accomplishing this.
“I didn’t learn all this stuff on my own. I had great veteran colleagues,” May said.

Nancee Deason was one of those colleagues. Deason was May’s ninth-grade Spanish teacher in 1989 and after bonding as teacher and student, the two would eventually work together as educators and become both peers and good friends.

“I said you shouldn’t just be considered Colorado Teacher of the Year, because you are,” Deason had said to May after the nomination.

Deason had nothing but positive things to say about May and her teaching style. “She just knows what makes them tick and how to get them to work. I don’t mean work like doing assignments. I just mean like, dedicate themselves to getting through school, or at least getting through her class, because sometimes that’s all you can ask for,” Deason said.

The administration at Turner Middle School has taken note of May’s positive impact on her students as well. Assistant Principal Adam Kohn has visited May’s classroom a few times and has noticed the consistently high energy level and engagement with students.

“There’s always a very high level of energy in her classroom,” Kohn said. “The kids are up and moving around. They’re using their hands. They’re doing different activities. They’re very engaged in the class.”

Kohn is impressed with the short amount of time it took for May to establish a positive relationship with her students and how well she has done in making the class a comfortable place for the kids.

May has goals set in the case that she does win Teacher of the Year as she would be working with the CDE. Noticing that some children already show a lack of interest in college at the middle school level, May would like to see vocational classes implemented for kids before high school. She would also like to see better compensation for teachers to mitigate the dissuasion of entering or the desire to leave the profession.

“I just feel ready to really advocate for our students and our profession. I’m ready to take that on and be a leader for that cause,” May said. “I feel like everything I have done in my career has really led me to this place in order to do that.”