Jennifer Hughes
I teach high school students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, managing 9th through 12th graders in all core academic subjects including ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, social skills, independent functioning, behavior skills, and life skills. I have 7 students in a 3 to 1 ratio classroom with two paraprofessionals who assist me. We are required by state law to expose students to their grade level modified standards, and I have to be creative and still make learning fun, probably even more so than a general education teacher because all my kids have learning disabilities. My class is not a daycare. We do science projects and experiments. Even if students are nonverbal, we do hand over hand and I try to include all of them in everything. I see us as a team and don't view it as I'm the teacher doing all the teaching while the paras change diapers and feed kids. We're all teaching the students all day long with everything, and every opportunity I get, I try to teach a student. My main area of expertise is probably compliance and teaching people to practice least dangerous assumptions, really trying to pass that message along to educators that we can't just say because a student has a low IQ that we shouldn't bother educating them, because that's not the case. All kids can learn. All people can learn. I also work with my parents, and one thing I tell them is that I have a child with a disability, so while all our kids are different, I use this analogy that we're all shopping in the same shoe store, we're just buying different pairs of shoes. I let them be seen and heard because sometimes they just need somebody to listen.
• Severe and Profound Endorsement
• Autism Endorsement
• Educational Leadership Certification
• English Language Learner's Endorsement
• Bachelor's Degree in Criminology
• Master's Degree in Exceptional Student Education from University of Central Florida (Magna Cum Laude)
• Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Summa Cum Laude)
• Associate's Degree
• Aspiring Leadership Program
• Phi Kappa Phi Member
• Superintendent's Award for Best Grant (Leader Readers Grant
• Volusia County)
• District Award for Disabilities History and Awareness Weeks Program (Volusia County)
• Caregiver of the Year for the State of Florida
• Assistant Principal Pool Acceptance (Polk County)
• Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
• AICARDI Syndrome Foundation (Worldwide Conference Chair
• Twice
• Child Care Subcommittee Co-Chair)
• World Autism Awareness Day Initiatives
What do you attribute your success to?
I can tell you, my grandmother was very, very prevalent in my life. She had to drop out of school in 8th grade to take care of her mother, who was sick. She was born in 1916, and she taught me and instilled in me growing up that you need to get your education, because it is the one thing that no one can ever take away from you. They can take your house, they can take your car, they can take your money, they can take anything, but what you have up there and what you've learned, they can't take that from you. That has always stuck with me my entire life and career, and is why I continued to go on and on until I maxed out and couldn't do anymore. Being a single parent has also taught me to be very independent, and I've been a constant learner both in life and professionally. I've never used being a single parent to stop me from keeping on, keeping on, and going and doing and learning and trying to be the best version of myself that I can be.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I believe in quality of life for everybody. I'm the person that if I flip over a rock, I don't put the rock back down, even if it causes me extra work. I'm going to problem solve and figure things out. We have to be the rock flippers and the page turners and not be afraid of what's coming next or how much work it may cause. I believe that students need to be as independent as they possibly can be, and that'll look different from student to student, but that's my goal with all my kids. I truly care about my kids and want the best for them. I don't do my job so I can get a gift from a parent at the end of the year. I do it because I truly care. I feel like my daughter was given to me for a reason, not for recognition or awards, but to help other kids, help other parents, or help other teachers to understand. I'm just trying to be the best mom I can be for her and give her the best quality of life she can have while she's here with me. If I'm going to take on something, I want to take it on and do it right, not just halfway do it.
Locations
Polk County Schools
Lakeland, FL