Jill.Jessen

Jill joined Oakland Schools after a decade as an ELA, political science, and reading intervention teacher in a local high school. In her role at Oakland Schools, Jill is a reading interventionist with District and School Services (School Culture and Climate Unit) and partners with Special Education colleagues. She works largely with the Adolescent Accelerated Reading Initiative, a reading intervention framework that accelerates studentsā€™ literacy skills (focused on reading comprehension) and critical thinking in expository text for grades three through twelve. Jill supports AARI educators and their colleagues of various disciplines through an ever learning and growing community of dedicated educators.

Jill also supports educators and districts in accelerating reading comprehension in non-fiction texts, leveraging speaking and listening in literacy learning, exploring strategies for questioning students in text, making text visible through text structures, and implementing classroom libraries. One of the best parts of being an educator is being a lifelong learner, so Jill is always busy learning more alongside classroom teachers.

Growing up, Jill lived all over Michigan, but came to the area to attend Oakland University (Go Golden Grizzlies!). Outside of the office, she is involved in a local faith community, stays active, mentors young women, and enjoys living life with her two favorite guys.