Faculty Feature: Learning Specialist Jessy White Loves To Help Her Students Learn

Can you tell us about your work as a Learning Specialist?

I work one-on-one with students who have an Individualized Learning Program based on their needs so that they can be successful in their other academic classes.

Do you have a particular area of focus?

All of the Learning Specialists have some area of expertise and training. My area is direct instruction of reading. Many of the things that my students are working on are related to the English language. It may be learning how to read. Sometimes it's a student that needs more support with writing as well. It may be a day student, or it may be an international student who is working with English as a Second Language (ESL).

In what way does your work with students relate to their other classes at Rectory?

A big part of what we do is teach skills and skill development, and what we teach them should help them in all of their classes. So, for example, one of the skills we might help them with is note-taking, or learning how to study for a quiz, or writing a paragraph. These are skills that are going to help them across the board.

How do you determine which skills to focus on with a particular student?

At the beginning of the year, I work with my students, looking at their learning profile, to establish goals for them. And then, throughout the year, I assess those goals and make adjustments as needed. 

When you meet with your students, do you work only on those particular skills and learning goals?

One of the things I love about being a Learning Specialist is every day is different. You never know what a student might bring to each class. So I always have the plan of the learning goals that I'm working on with students. But sometimes they come with a very immediate need that we need to help them with, whether it's studying for a quiz they have coming up or some other academic concern that they have. So we always have two things going.

What would you say are some of the challenges that many of your students face?

A lot of my ESL students have challenges understanding the English language. One of the big challenges for them is understanding all of the different nuances of the vocabulary that we have. So they may know the meaning of a word in one setting, but they don't know all the different applications of the word in many different settings. So I really enjoy having conversations with those students and helping them make those connections. I love it when that light bulb goes on when you show it to them in a certain way and then they realize, “Oh, okay, I get it now.” And it's fun for me to learn more about the English language as I'm helping them understand it further because it really is a very challenging language.

What kind of schedule do you follow with your students?

Students that I work with come to me just like they would come to any class. I see my students four or five times a week, and I'll see that same student all year long. 

What kind of curriculum do you use?

All of my students have a set program that we're working with. For example, for some of my Elementary School students, I use a very specific reading program. With some of my ESL students, we work on specific vocabulary, but it's always geared to what the student really needs. And I love the flexibility of that, being able to learn about my students and what they're interested in, and then tailor some of those individual classes to their needs.

What do you like about working in the Learning Center?

Something that's great about the Learning Center is that it creates a community of learners—the layout of it, all the students can see other students like them, everybody is working on things to help them be stronger learners. As soon as they come here, I really think they enjoy being here because they see that there this is a caring community. It really is a place where they can be seen and we can get to know them very well here. 

What do you love about being a Learning Specialist?

One of my favorite things about being a Learning Specialist is my chance to work with students one-on-one. I feel like, in that setting, for a number of reasons, they really shine. And I think, not only can you really get to know the students, but you can really get to the heart of what they need.

I love being a Learning Specialist because I love seeing the progress our students make, especially our ESL students. They come here as 6th graders or even 5th graders, and they know very little English. And then you see them leave as 9th graders and they’re fully independent and integrated into their classes and they just feel such a sense of accomplishment. It is very rewarding to see their growth and progress.

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I grew up in Buffalo, NY. One of the things I loved about living there was the diversity of cultures and communities. It’s actually one of the reasons why I wanted to bring my own children to this school. I live in Woodstock, CT, and there isn't a lot of cultural diversity in our area, but at Rectory there definitely is. And I feel like that is an invaluable part of a child's growth, to be exposed to that experience. That's actually been one of the greatest gifts that the school has given my own children. 

Teaching is in my background. I come from a family of teachers. I have uncles who teach, my dad taught, my sister teaches currently, and my mom did some teaching. So it really is in my blood. And what drew me personally to teaching was, I had been working as an AmeriCorps member in the urban schools in Providence. And I saw that there was a need there. And I really wanted to be able to give students the same kind of inspiring education that I remember having as a kid.

I got my Master's in Teaching from Wheelock College, which is now part of Boston University. For undergraduate, I went to Gettysburg College and majored in philosophy. And that really is still my first love. 

Are you able to connect your love for philosophy to your teaching?

Yes. As a kindergarten teacher, I loved hearing my students become little philosophers themselves. They would just spontaneously describe something in such a beautiful way. They weren't trying to be philosophers, it was just how they saw the world, and they were very uninhibited. And I often wanted to record the things that they would say because they were just beautiful and really profound. And I see that in my Middle School students as well. When my ESL students are learning the English language, for example, sometimes they have very philosophical ways of describing a word in their language. 

What’s one quote or philosophy that guides your teaching?

A favorite quote of mine comes from Rachel Carson, who said that each child really just needs one adult to help them keep a sense of wonder. I try to be that adult for all my students, to help them keep that sense of wonder that they had as small children continuously throughout their lives. 

Are there other ways you would like to bring philosophy into your teaching here at Rectory?

Something that I would love to try to do at Rectory is to create an elective with the Middle School students teaching philosophy to the Elementary School students using children's picture books like Frog and Toad and Velveteen Rabbit. I think that would just be an amazing, beautiful experience for them and for me. 

What’s something you like to do when you’re not here at Rectory?

One of my favorite things to do when I'm not at Rectory is go to Maine with my family. My uncles live there, my parents come to Maine with us. We all just love being there near the salt air, being out in nature. It's very healing.

What would you say is most special about Rectory School?

What's special about Rectory are the relationships and the community. There are the teachers that you always connect with and that really gives Rectory such a family feel that you might not find somewhere else. Both my children went through Rectory and my daughter still communicates with Mrs. Weigel, and they still have connections with the friends that they had when they were here. There are all kinds of teachers here and there are all kinds of students here. It doesn't matter how unique your child is, what they're interested in, there is always going to be someone who matches with your child and sees them for who they really are.