For 28 years, former teacher Mrs. Jennifer Chandler worked as an English and journalism teacher here at the Nest, educating hundreds of students throughout the years. Now, Chandler has left the Nest and ventured off into a new branch of her career.
Originally, Chandler planned on teaching until she hit the 30-year mark, deciding to try something else, also school-related, after. However, these plans changed when she found out about a job as a teacher specialist at Joppatowne High School and Patterson Mill High School, a job similar to that of teacher specialist Mrs. Jeanne Heinze. Chandler describes this sort of job as her new “dream job,” working with students but not necessarily teaching them.
After hearing about a job opening from a friend, Chandler consulted her family about possibly applying. After she did so, she says, “it was crickets for a while,” until she was asked for an interview and eventually the job. The decision to leave, according to Chandler, “was the hardest professional decision [she] ever had to make.”
There are plenty of differences between Chandler’s job at The Nest versus that of Joppatowne and Patterson Mill. The educator moves between different projects very quickly; for example, she planned a “huge” College and Career Fair at Joppatowne while also “[being] in the classroom teaching a lesson, and then I’m meeting with a student to revise a resume, and then I’m on the phone with an employer.” Chandler describes these tasks as being small parts of a large machine. The biggest difference, though, according to the educator, is that she is now responsible for teaching lessons for general career skills such as “public speaking and first impressions…[as well as] resume writing and cover letter writing,” whereas as an English teacher, she taught “curriculum-driven” lessons.
Other differences that Chandler notes include having her own office (or, in the case of Joppatowne, a shared office), meeting with local business leaders, leading resume-writing workshops, creating coursework, etc. Along with that, interactions with students are something that have changed for Chandler. As a workforce specialist, she is “making it impossible to forget she is [there],” so that students know who she is and what work she does; she adds that students, “no matter where, deserve someone who will work hard for them.”
Although she enjoys her new jobs, there are definitely new challenges that the former English teacher has to face. For example, organization between the two schools has been tricky for Chandler, as well as the fact that the “finish line” usually found in journalism – set deadlines and schedules – is constantly moving for both her and students.
Overall, while there are many challenges and differences between her old and new jobs, Chandler continues to be a steady presence for students. If students are interested in talking to her, Chandler notes that she will be at “all the school events,” such as cross-country meets, the talent show in December, etc.