Ms. Jennifer Jackson-Escogido, fondly known as Ms. Jackson,who had sailed on our pirate ship since 2008, stepped off this year on October 24. She taught Spanish bilingual tutorials and English as a Second Language (ESL), in addition to being co-adviser of South’s Black Student Union (BSU).
Prior to working at South, Ms. Jackson was an ESL and bilingual language teacher. She is continuing her journey as a teacher of multilingual learners (MLs) at Trenton Public School District, which she joined October 27. Ms. Jackson explained that Trenton Public School has “ a higher percentage of MLs, the majority of whom speak Spanish.” She said, “I am excited to meet the new students and teachers. I want to continue to learn and grow in a completely different environment.”
Her time at South has taught her that “you are never too old to learn.” Ms.Jackson said, “Over the years I have been fortunate to encounter so many smart and talented students and teachers that have taught me so much and inspired me to keep an open mind and continue to be receptive to new ideas and perspectives.”
Ms. Jackson hopes that the lessons that she has learned during her time at South are some of the lessons that she has taught in her own classroom.
“I hope my students learn to be independent and think critically,” she said, “I hope they learn not to believe everything they hear about someone, but to form their own opinions.”
In addition to dedicating time to teaching students how to communicate in English, Ms. Jackson had an impact on students who are members of South’s BSU. Ms. Jackson joined South’s BSU in 2022 as a co-adviser with Ms. Tyler Barnes, Language Arts teacher, AVID ’27 teacher, and Track Coach.
Together, Ms. Barnes and Ms. Jackson spent their time finding ways for students to learn more about the Black culture.
“We spend a lot of time planning various field trips and events that were sometimes stressful, but they always worked out and created memories for our club, “Ms. Barnes said. “Our field trip to Harlem, New York, was full of culture, food, and fun.”
Ms. Barnes credited Ms. Jackson with bringing students’ ideas to life. “When our club members have visions, she makes sure things get printed, displayed, and organized,” she said. “She does the behind the scenes work that gets our activities approved and scheduled.”
Ms. Jackson has also been a per son Ms. Barnes could lean on. “I could always chat with Ms.Jackson in confidentiality and walk away laughing and feeling better,” Ms. Barnes said. “She is an amazing co-adviser who was the yin to my yang.”
Ms. Barnes added, “Ms. Jackson is incredibly knowledgeable, or , patient, and passionate about educational equity. When you have a teacher with these qualities, everyone benefits.”
