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Persevering as a New Teacher

After a rough start to her first year of teaching, Jenn Dewhirst (Houston ’94) was determined to prove that she could make an impact in the classroom.

By Jenn Dewhirst

March 19, 2019

Working My Tail Off For My Students

After her first few months of teaching, Jenn Dewhirst was told that leading a classroom might not be a good fit. Rather than get discouraged, she doubled-down on her effort to help her students succeed, with amazing results.

My principal called me in right before Christmas break, my first year of teaching, and said, What are you doing for the break? I said, Oh, Im gonna go home and visit my family. What are you doing for the break? And she said, Well, I think maybe you should just stay there." And I said, What do you mean? And she said, I mean, maybe this isnt for you. 

And so I just kind of sat there for a second and thought about it. That moment, I decided that I was going to prove her wrong and I came back and worked my tail off. One-hundred percent of my students passed the state test the kids had to take at the end of the year. 

    

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