FOSTERING STUDENT REFLECTION, LEADERSHIP, AND ADVOCACY
ABOUT JEANNIE
Laura Jeanne ("Jeannie") Penrod's journey as a high school educator has spanned 17 almost 18 years in the Clark County School District. Jeannie teaches disciplines ranging from Special Education to English Language Learners and varying levels of English Language Arts. She facilitates meaningful learning experiences with students using project-based learning (PBL) and social-emotional learning (SEL) to foster student reflection and advocacy. Passionate about teacher leadership, Jeannie has engaged in local, statewide, national, and global fellowships.
“Mrs. Penrod didn’t just teach us diction and how to write a personal narrative. She taught us how to accept ourselves, to maintain childlike wonder, and to be a force to be reckoned with. In essence for me, Mrs. Penrod taught me how to love again, and I think that is the greatest gift she could’ve given me.”
YUSRA, STUDENT
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
As the second-generation Hispanic daughter of a family who immigrated from Cuba in search of educational, political, and religious freedom, my family prioritized education. Even as a young student in grade school, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. It is critically important to me in my instructional leadership role as a high school English teacher to create lessons beyond simple grammar or memorized student responses. I commit to cultivating student voice, acknowledging that voice is one of the most vital tools my students possess. Cultivating student voice is complemented with a focus on self-discovery and curiosity to foster a love of learning. There is no more significant way to inspire students to believe in themselves than to build their confidence and cultivate their potential and capacity. Equally, there is no greater achievement in excellence than knowing that each student believes they are capable of greatness, not just in school but also in life.
LEADERSHIP & ADVOCACY
A policy and advocacy leader, I am actively engaged in fellowships globally, nationally, and statewide for educational policy impact. Currently a Nevada Future of Learning Network Ambassador and Steering Committee member and Teach Plus CEO National Teacher Cabinet member. These opportunities are directly informing the Portrait of a Nevada Learner for policy impact in progressing Nevada’s education system to competency based education framework focused on skills-based learning. Advocacy at the local level affords me the opportunity to lead monthly teacher roundtables with the local district superintendent, spearheading district-level work and prioritizing special education, equity, and diversity, and teacher recruitment, support, and retention.
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Policymaker Endorsements:
Assemblyman Duy Nguyen, District 8
Assemblywoman Erica Mosca, District 14
STUDENT EMPOWERMENT
My students recently advocated with legislators during Nevada's 82nd legislative session through a meaningful Project Based Learning (PBL) experience with the driving question, “What does it mean to advocate for all Nevada learners?” Empowered to engage with legislators in listening sessions, group meetings, and written testimony, they were successful in securing passage of Assembly Bill (AB)274 (Financial Literacy Instruction) and AB241 (College and Career Readiness Access) for all 440,000 Nevada learners.
Student voice was also embraced through multiple opinion education editorials published with The Nevada Independent to highlight their advocacy of bills in the 82nd legislative session that were meaningful to them as individuals and students. Alongside advocacy legislatively, students informed Nevada’s Portrait of a Learner through surveys and listening sessions with the Nevada’s State Board of Education President, Felicia Ortiz. Students also informed Teacher Recruitment and Retention efforts with Teach for America through in-person interviews to capture student perspective in the nationwide efforts to recruit and retain educators.
CLASSROOM INNOVATION
DESIGN THINKING, SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING, AND TRAUMA-INFORMED COMMUNICATIONS
Design thinking and learning lead to innovative and meaningful ways for students to engage with their learning and for teachers to serve as coaches and mentors of that learning. Students use problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to engage in community-based projects with an adult-world impact. My extensive training from Bucks Institute and fourteen years of experience implementing Project Based Learning is a practice frequently used in my instruction.
Complementing this instruction, I have additional professional development in social-emotional learning practices through Breathe for Change, completing their 200-hour program. This program has fostered practices such as meditation, breathing techniques, trauma-informed communication strategies, and reflective exercises using writing to promote a classroom rooted in students feeling safe, valued, and seen for their unique abilities and diversity.
Through these practices, students have developed a voice they use in the community to support and foster changes in the state of Nevada. Students have created care packages for students experiencing housing insecurity with Title I and Salvation Army, created Anti-Bullying campaigns shared statewide with Flip the Script and on our school campus, hosted meetings with legislators, wrote testimony for bill advocacy, and published opinion education articles to advocate for bills in the 82nd legislative session. Students have also used their advocacy to host community service fairs with organizations ranging from St. Jude to Furrgoten Friends (a local animal rescue).
My students have had the opportunity to engage in fellowships alongside me to help drive education changes in the state of Nevada through the InspirEd fellowship that directly impacted the development of the Portrait of a Nevada Learner with the Nevada Department of Education. Their work inspired the discussion of co-collaborative learning in education. My students are currently engaged in the We Are America fellowship, sharing students' stories of immigration and nationality that will result in published stories in 2024. Students have collaborated with adults in the community to inspire and drive active impact to move education forward positively and meaningfully.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, LITERACY IN UGANDA, SCHOOL CULTURE, AND DIVERSITY
My community is important, and so is the community of the state, nation, and globe. Efforts towards impact started with Assemblywoman Selena Torres to help understand, inform, and implement strong practices that positively impact restorative justice legislation and implementation in Nevada. Statewide, I am working with Nevada Future of Learning Network and the Nevada Department of Education to inform the portrait of a Nevada Learner to have a state-level impact on developing a more comprehensive education system in the 21st century. My continued efforts alongside my students impacted the successful passage of legislation with Assemblyman Duy Ngyuen for financial literacy instruction (AB274) and Assemblywoman Erica Mosca for College and Career Readiness Access (AB241).
I also lead with colleagues on my school campus, promoting school culture and diversity through culture and climate pursuits for staff, teachers, and students through affirmation pockets, Southwest Coyote Climate awards, and Secret Staff Spirit Days. Continuing to impact the community positively, my classroom students and students who are part of student-led organizations I advise have allowed me to help foster influential leaders and advocates of social change locally, nationally, and globally. Currently, my students are partnered with The Literate Earth Project at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to support literacy efforts in Uganda through book donations and fundraising.
"In the multiple projects I’ve seen Jeannie undertake, she has always been highly collaborative and supportive of the work and ideas of others. She knows that to help our students thrive, we must work together to bring about change. She is a truly inspirational educator and leader."
KIRA JONES, CEO, TEACH PLUS