Her Story
About Janae
Janae Scott serves as an MLL Teacher and ESL Teacher at Propel Brad Aquil, a K-12 school in the Propel network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She began her career in education in 2013 as a substitute teacher and joined her current school in 2017 as a Spanish teacher before returning to the site in December 2024. Her primary expertise lies in English as a Second Language and English for grades 7-12. Scott earned a Bachelor's degree in Spanish from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg in 2011, a Master's of Education in ESL from Detain University in 2015, and a Master's of Education in 7-12 English from Carlo University in 2020. She is WIDA certified and holds teaching certification as a 7-12 English and ESL specialist, and she is currently pursuing a principal certification. Beyond the classroom, Scott founded the Power and Legacy Initiative in 2024, a nonprofit focused on educating individuals about home ownership, credit repair, and revitalizing blighted properties, particularly for the urban population. She is also an advocate for special education through her participation in her son's schooling events related to autism. Scott attributes her success to her son, who serves as her biggest motivation, and she values building relationships with students and educators by seeing them as human beings before focusing on data or academics.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Janae
01What do you attribute your success to?
My son is my biggest motivation. Raising him, I do everything for him.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The sky's the limit. Anything's possible. You can do anything that you want to do as long as you put your mind to it and put the work in.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Have boundaries. It's okay to have bold goals. Don't have deadline goals. Life isn't perfect and there will be obstacles like COVID, but when you have your goals set, you can always jump back onto those goals and get them finished.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenges include being in positions where my voice feels like it doesn't matter or I don't have as much influence. Teachers have the largest roles but are overlooked. Policy makers and decision makers often have no background in education and make decisions without classroom experience.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I value seeing people, especially students and educators, as human beings. I'm a big advocate for building relationships before getting into data or academics. You can motivate a child or anybody if you actually care about them and their lives.
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