Jennifer Elton (WWTF ’14)
BIOGRAPHY
Jennifer Elton is the 9th grade Environmental Science teacher at STEMCivics Charter School of Trenton. This is her fifth year at the school teaching and coaching cross country. Prior to the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship program, Jennifer was an environmental educator in the Trenton area who saw the need for additional science educators in the local schools. At STEMCivics, she has enjoyed the opportunity to use the skills gained from the Fellowship to design the ninth-grade science curriculum and mentor new teachers.
SCHOOL PROFILE
- Small school
- Urban
- Publicly Funded Charter School
- Enrolled students: 400
- Free/Reduced lunch eligible: 61%
- Demographics: 66% Black, 33% Hispanic
SESSION ABSTRACT
In this session, participants will explore how to increase student engagement in an online platform by incorporating local social justice case studies. Social justice issues are important now more than ever and are a relevant and thought-provoking way to help students find meaning in their academic classes. Jennifer will walk participants through the process of identifying and selecting a case study, deconstructing the case study into manageable parts, and designing a culminating project based on the case study. Participants will then have the chance to brainstorm how they might incorporate the provided social justice resources into their own classrooms.