Jennifer White



Jennifer White

Jen White is a 1994 graduate of Belleville Township High School East in Belleville, Illinois. When she was in high school she had a wonderful science teacher who inspired her to pursue an undergraduate degree in Cell and Structural Biology at the University of Illinois. While attending the U of I, she researched Drosophila Melanogaster with Dr. Chiba and investigated the effects of alpha-actinin on the nervous system of fly embryos. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in 1998, she remained at the U of I for a Masters in Science with teaching certification. She completed that degree in 2001 and began teaching at J.W. Eater Jr. High in Rantoul. After two years of teaching at Eater, she made the move to Jefferson Middle School and has happily settled into the Jefferson school community. In 2008 she completed a second Masters in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on language and literacy. In 2010, after much hard work she received her National Board Certification in Early Adolescent Science. After teaching 7th grade for 10 years, she moved up to 8th grade at the start of the 2011-2012 school year and became the Department Leader for Science. Over the course of the past few years, she has worked with Kristin Camp, Unit 4's Science Curriculum Coordinator, to write and pilot middle school units on Life Processes, Weather and Climate, Geology, Astronomy and Oceans. She has been a Curriculum Specialist for I-RISE since 2010.