- Special Events
- Teacher of the Year
Jennifer Beall
Renner Middle School - Science Teacher
Teaching Philosophy
When I think about the kind of teacher I want to be, I think back to my schooling, I remember feeling loved and valued in first grade with Mrs. Brown, whether it was a hug or smile each day I knew she cared about me. Even after being in trouble at recess, I remember doing my very best to draw a rose for her because it mattered to me that she might be disappointed in me. I also remember a professor in college, Dr. Moore who made Chemistry seem easy, the way he explained the content but also the way we could fearlessly ask questions and not be made to feel less than for not having already known the answer. I remember the first time thinking I wanted to be a teacher back in eleventh-grade chemistry with Dr. Whitaker, or The Whit-Dawg as we so lovingly called him. I loved going to class every day because he made science fun; we celebrate Mole Day with a dry ice lab and learned about the chemical reactions! I remember never wanting to miss his class and being excited to see what would happen that day. He brought so much knowledge, we couldn't get enough. These phenomenal teachers showed me the kind of teacher I wanted to be.
In my classroom, I strive to create a supportive environment where students feel welcomed valued and cared about as individuals. In making them feel valued, they know my classroom is a safe place where they can be open to the learning process. To help make students feel welcomed, I greet them at the door with either a verbal greeting, high five, fist bump, or handshake. Some of the handshakes can be pretty involved but I love that students are eager to come to my room with a smile and excitement to learn. Another way I help students feel safe and valued in my class is a weekly check-in called ‘Friday Feels’. I pose a question and ask them to share a response, being careful to only ask them questions I am willing to share about myself. These questions may be something personal, or they may be something silly or fun like asking about their perfect snow day. Students have opened up and shared some very personal things with me, but this allows me to be the best teacher for that student. This came in handy when a student who was frequently in and out of trouble always shared about soccer, I was able to find a way to relate our lesson to soccer so that he could better connect with and understand the content. Later, I talked to him about trying to stay out of trouble and stay focused like Christiano Ronaldo (his favorite player). Following that interaction, I noticed that I didn't see that kid in trouble, instead, I saw a hard-working, determined student that wanted to work for me. One of my favorite things is seeing kids out of the classroom; playing in the band, acting on stage, playing ice hockey, soccer or football. Not only do I get to see them in their element, but it's another way I can show them how much they do matter and that I am their personal cheerleader in and out of the classroom. If I can be a loving, caring teacher like Mrs. Brown, one that really cares about students, and the individuals they become, then I will consider my teaching career a success.
Some of the various topics in science can be difficult to understand, but I hope that by explaining it different ways, using songs and hand movements, connecting the information to their daily lives and making it relevant helps them go beyond memorization and truly be able to apply the content in different settings. I want students to be engaged and connected to the information so that science feels easy for them. Students aren't all the same, so the teaching cannot be a ‘one size fits all’. I have to adapt and change to help each individual student be successful. When they are engaged and understanding, the learning can go beyond the lesson plan. They sing along when I play a rap to help them remember the phases of the moon, use hand movements to help them remember the theories of the origins of the universe and after I related the layers of the earth to a cake — one student brought in a real cake! I want to have a classroom where students go beyond and ask those in-depth ‘why’ questions — the same way that Dr. Moore did.
To have a lasting impact on students, I feel you have to truly love what you do and love your content. My approach and body language on any given lesson or topic can change their outlook so that it matches mine. If I go into a lesson excited, sharing real-world stories or facts that relate to the content then I can create the opportunity for my students to be excited about the content too. I love sharing how balancing equations can be fun like solving a puzzle, or learning about the size of stars in the universe and seeing their reactions when they find out how small Earth actually is in comparison to stars that are hundreds of times bigger than our sun. By showing my love and excitement for science, I hope to help them to better understand the content so that their learning doesn't stop once they leave my room. When students tell me they never did well in science or didn’t like science before, but now they think it's fun or it makes sense — that makes my day. To see them finally experiencing success in a subject they thought was hard or boring tells me that what I am doing is working. Teaching about rock processes and geologic features does not have to be as boring, and the Electromagnetic Spectrum does not have to be something that's difficult to understand; if I show my excitement and passion, it makes the knowledge accessible, easy and fun. The Whit-Dawg in high school chemistry first inspired me to think of teaching as a possible career path and built a foundation for my love of science. I hope my passion for science and what I do helps them to make connections and foster a deeper understanding of the content this year.
Technology has been a big integration into my classroom. It’s helped me by allowing me to set up stations where students can access a hyperdoc I’ve created on Google Classroom giving me the opportunity to work with a smaller group of kids on a specific topic. I created a digital escape room where students used a Google form and had to have all the right answers with information from our unit to ‘escape’, they had so much fun, they forgot they were doing classwork. I love reaching kids on their level and will post our lab and class activities on my class Instagram — when they see themselves featured they get so excited and can't wait to do another lab or activity because it might mean they can ‘make it on the gram’. A great way to help reach kids at home while studying for tests is through live reviews. Students follow my live review and ask questions and they get a video of me answering questions in real-time! This was especially helpful during units where they needed to see me solve an equation for acceleration or reference a picture or diagram about plate boundaries. Technology can also be a tool to help me analyze data. As students complete assignments in Google Forms I can take those answers and analyze which TEKs they seem to be struggling with which can help determine if we need to review and reteach or move onto the next part of the unit.
As a teacher, I do have to focus on the data and numbers but it is about so much more than that. My goal is for students to know I care about them and I believe in them. I want them to be excited about coming to class and ready to learn, to ask questions and wonder about all the what-ifs beyond what is being taught in class. Maya Angelou said it best, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” At the beginning of the year, I ask students to finish the sentence: “I wish my teacher knew....” And throughout the year I hope to demonstrate the answer to: “I wish my students knew...,” because I want them to know that while their test scores matter for class, who they are as a person matters so much more, and that there is an adult that respects and cares for them.
Principal's Recommendation
Dear Selection Committee,
Please accept this letter as a heartfelt recommendation on behalf of Jennifer Beall for Plano ISD’s Teacher of the Year.
Jennifer has been teaching for 13 years, and we were lucky enough to have her join our eighth-grade science team at Renner in 2018 from Wilson Middle School.
In addition to quickly becoming an integral part of our eighth-grade science team, Jennifer was awarded a Plano ISD Education Foundation Grant this year and has taken the lead on science fair. Ms. Beall is the type of leader who doesn’t just organize all of the science fair details and communicate the science fair information; her students performed incredibly well with their projects. In fact, one of Jennifer’s students won grand prize at regionals for all middle school students, won first place in the state and his project was then recognized as one of the top 300 in the nation.
Her impact on our school has been tremendous in her short time here. Not only is she an incredible teacher, but she is a leader of teachers. At the end of her first year here, she interviewed for and was selected as our eighth-grade team leader. She leads with solutions and positivity, and her colleagues have a great deal of respect for her. This respect stems from the fact that every conversation, suggestion and solution has students at its heart.
Daniel Anaya, Jennifer’s fellow eighth-grade science teacher and science department chair, says that Ms. Beall is “one of the best teachers [he’s] ever collaborated with. Whether it is at the district level improving science curriculum or working on campus empowering Renner Mustangs, [Jennifer] always puts students first and inspires everyone around her to strive for success. She is in her element when nurturing relationships with colleagues and students and goes beyond academics by making social emotional well-being a high priority.” Mr. Anaya “love[s] hearing anecdotes about the many lives of students [Jennifer has] impacted and how they reach out to her to share the successes they’ve had.” Such high praise from a colleague speaks volumes and there is no better testament to the value and efficacy of an excellent teacher than when students thrive in the world outside of Plano ISD’s walls.
When you step into Ms. Beall’s classroom, you instantly recognize the positive buzz that signifies a sense of community where kids feel safe and where authentic learning is taking place. Kids are talking to one another about science, moving about the room with a purpose, raising questions and finding answers. Megan Hawthorne, one of our first-year teachers on the eighth-grade team, told me that Jennifer “knows every student’s need and uses data to drive her planning.” Ms. Cropper, one of her eighth-grade science teammates, points out that Jennifer “loves a good to-do list, is a great team member to work with, [is a] sports lover and always does what is best for her students while encouraging them to be better all-around people each and every day.” I believe that these traits help Jennifer to strike that delicate balance between relationship builder and teacher in charge and that combination creates success academically, socially and emotionally for kids.
Whether planning with her team, digging into data, organizing science fair, running an eighth-grade team meeting with 15+ teachers, using technology to make the life of EVERY TEACHER IN THE BUILDING a little easier, or working with students, you will experience kindness in Jennifer’s heart, encouragement in her words, a smile on her face and service in her actions.
Great hires happen in Plano ISD often, but I feel like our students, parents and staff members hit the lottery when Jennifer Beall came into our lives. Plano is fortunate to have such an amazing individual as part of our learning community. She is not only teacher of this year; in my opinion, she is an award winner every single year that she is a professional educator.
It is truly my honor to recommend Jennifer Beall for Plano ISD’s Teacher of the Year.
Sincerely,
Jill Engelking
Principal