Jenny Findell, teacher of fifth grade Able & Talented students at Emerson Elementary School, has been selected to receive the 2017 Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM) Elementary Teacher Award for the Central District. She will be honored at the 67th annual OCTM conference, which will take place on October 19 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Findell has been teaching the fifth grade A&T class at Emerson since 2013. Before that, she was a fulltime mom and substitute teacher in Worthington. She completed her undergraduate work in English and Psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, and then studied education at San Francisco State University. Findell later attended the University of New Hampshire, where she completed an intensive, research-based master’s program in Biochemistry. While working as a substitute teacher, Findell became licensed as a Gifted Intervention Specialist through the University of Cincinnati. She is a member of the OCTM and the Ohio Association for Gifted Children.
“Because my highly gifted students are unique and often intense people, my fifth grade classroom is a very engaging place,” she says. “When students are given a voice and the opportunity to create their learning, exciting things happen.”
Findell was nominated for the award by fellow Emerson teacher Mara Clark, who said she is “passionate about teaching, as well as her own learning.” Clark said Findell shares her joy for doing math with everyone, and that she is always excited to collaborate with her colleagues.