ORLANDO, Fla. — A+ Teacher Jessica Strong teaches for Florida Virtual School. She uses humor to make learning fun and memorable for her students. Strong says, "I really think that building relationships with students keeps them interested in coming back to my classroom and spending time with me."


What You Need To Know

  • Jessica Strong teaches sixth graders at Florida Virtual School 

  • She uses humor to make learning fun and memorable

  • To nominate an A+ Teacher, fill out this form, or email us at teachers@charter.com

Strong teaches sixth graders and she says while virtual school can be a challenge it's one she's always up for.

She adds, "When my students are at home in their own homes I'm competing with a lot of distractions so I always really aim to make them laugh — make them want to laugh. I don't care if they're laughing at me or with me. I just know if they're laughing they're listening."

That's important with the subject their tackling. Strong says, "So Language Arts is a lot of reading, a lot of writing and a lot of grammar.

Strong trys to make her lessons memorable and adds, "We had a granny Strong join our lesson today and that was just pictures of me dressed up like a grandma to help get the message across to students. I poorly photoshop things on purpose for my students to laugh at so my poorly photoshopped lizard joined a mariachi band and then a heavy metal band then became a standup comedian and the students were laughing throughout and while the students were laughing throughout they were learning about pronoun agreement." 

She knows striking the right balance is critical and says, "So I really do my best to make sure that I know them — that I know their interests, their hobbies, that they know that I care and then they're more likely to participate in class."

Strong builds their confidence up so they can become life long learners. She says, "What I want them to take with them is a value in themselves - to know that they are incredible — and worthwhile — and feel that themselves."