Jessica Frost

I'm a mom, teacher and educational leader, who's combining my teaching expertise with raising a little modern learner.

 

I'm the proud mama of three year old Nicholas. He loves watching The Wiggles (Gee c'mon!), spotting streetcars, playing with open-ended materials and anything with wheels, and exploring sounds (bang, bang, bang). He's the light of my life and I could watch him play for hours. A young child's capabilities are fascinating and observing him explore, create, build and play has allowed me to plan intentional provocations. Provocations can spark learning that enhances literacy and numeracy development. 

 

It isn't always easy to know how to best support your child’s learning. I'm hoping this platform will allow me to share my learning journey, with my son, and how I'm introducing him to concepts and skills that he will be exploring more deeply when entering Kindergarten. I will be doing this all through PLAY, no boring worksheets or flash cards! I truly believe that all children are capable, competent, and rich in potential. 

 

I'm currently a teacher and educational leader for Curriculum and Instruction Support Services at the Peel District School Board. I'm an Ontario Certified Teacher with a Master of Teaching and certifications in the primary, junior, and intermediate divisions. I hold a Reading Specialist from OISE (University of Toronto) and hold Special Education qualifications. I've taught Kindergarten through Grade 4 and have been a Literacy Coach and Early Literacy Teacher. I'm currently an Instructional Coach supporting teachers in a Kindergarten to Grade 12 model.

 

As an Instructional Coach, I work alongside administrators and educators to implement board and Ministry initiatives that improve teaching practices and student learning. I support numeracy and literacy across the curriculum and co-plan, co-teach and debrief lessons with educators that support modern learners. I enjoy facilitating teacher professional development and co-learning with teachers throughout collaborative inquiries. Building professional learning communities empowers us as educators to learn from each other and deepen our understanding of transformational instruction and assessment practices.

 

I’m passionate about empowering modern learners. Although this includes leveraging technology in classrooms, it's so much more than that. It's about being responsive to children's interests, passions and wonders. It's about teaching developmentally and differentiating instruction. It's about providing students with voice and choice in their learning. It’s about fostering creativity and innovation. It's about being culturally responsive and ensuring that students see themselves reflected in our curriculum. It's about "uncovering" curriculum expectations through inquiry and play-based learning,  rather than "covering" the curriculum. It's about co-learning with students. It’s about empowering them to make our world a better place than we could even imagine. Not too difficult right?!? I believe it is not only our moral imperative to empower all learners but it's essential to maximizing student achievement in the 21st Century.

 

Welcome to my journey.