Jessica Maynard
Jessica Maynard is an accomplished
young woman. At an early age, she was diagnosed with autism. As Jessica
was entering middle school, her parents realized that public school
could not continue to support her growth as a student.
In
the 6th grade, Jessica became a student of Jordan Lake School of the
Arts (JLSA) in Apex, NC, and she was the first student to graduate from
the K-12 program.
She described the experience as,
"[It's] a community that comes together with the freedom to learn the
skills that will help them as adults." This experience encouraged
Jessica's aspirations to become an elementary school teacher.
Currently,
she participates in the Horizon Program at JLSA while she attends
Central Carolina Community College. The Horizon program teaches life
skills and includes an internship opportunity.
At Jessica’s internship, she assists the elementary students at JLSA with reading and writing. Since Jessica has been interning at the school, she has become a role model and a leader to the students.
With the flash cards that Jessica has created, she works one-on-one with a student who needs extra practice to prepare for an upcoming test. She holds up a card with the word equality and discusses how equality relates to the theme of empowerment.
Jessica reads a second book to the children, who are captivated by her story time that they sit quietly and absorb every word.
One of Jessica’s favorite tasks is reading to children. Since Jessica has been interning at the school, she has become a role model and a leader to the students.
Scattered flash cards on the desk are signs of prep work for Jessica. She prepares them to assist students with their weekly spelling words. The week’s theme: words of empowerment.
Jessica assists students in preparing for their spelling tests. Here, she works with a student on one specific flash card related to empowerment: hope.