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Rising Star Independent Elementary School Teacher-Jennifer Evans

Guiding the Age of Discovery
A New York City newcomer finds the perfect fits

Jennifer Evans credits her choice of career, in part, to her family.

“My parents are both educators and so is my sister so it’s been ingrained in me since I was a little girl,” said Evans, a Louisiana native.

But that is not the sole reason Evans decided to become a teacher.

“I love kids,” she said. “I know that’s cliché, but I really just have a passion for that age. At this age everything is just so new to them and they’re excited so you’re just rewarded every day through their happiness.”

Evans came to teach 1st grade at the Geneva School of Manhattan, a classical Christian school, after four years of teaching in Atlanta, Georgia where she also received a master’s degree in education from Piedmont College. She taught for two years before that in Baton Rouge after completing her bachelor’s degree at Louisiana State University in elementary education.

Evans said she never thought she would have the opportunity to teach in a private Christian school, which is something she always wanted to do. However, after meeting her future husband, who had been living in New York, she moved here when they decided to marry.

“I just wanted to be teaching in a Godly way and sharing the Gospel to the little ones and it just worked out that it happened to be in New York City,” she said.

Her class of only 12 students is part of the reason Evans enjoys teaching at the Geneva School. With her previous experience in public schools, she was unable to give students the attention she felt they deserved.

“For most teachers, the class sizes are usually quite large, so you feel you aren’t able to meet all the children’s learning styles,” said Evans. “I don’t have that problem this year.”

Scott Parson, head of school, said that Evans’ love for her students is a large part of what makes her a good teacher.
“You can’t buffalo children and they respond to the fact that she seems to really like them and she doesn’t need to pretend,” said Parson.

Combined with her experience, Parson added that Evans’ ability to understand her students and cater her lessons around their personalities makes her teaching style highly successful for both children and parents.

“The fact that she demonstrates a really deep knowledge of her students’ strengths and areas requiring development and their likes and dislikes, she’s able to tailor her lesson to those qualities,” explained Parson. “I think she has a high degree of professionalism that comes with experience and passion for the job, but at the core it looks to the parents that she really likes their kids and she’s able to maintain that through the days.”

— Shayndi Raice