My name is Jenny Henderson. I am currently a 7th and 8th grade accelerated math teacher at Cluny School in Newport, RI. When I was growing up I was one of the lucky ones that already had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to be, a teacher. I started off at College of Charleston, where my first advisor tried to talk me out of being a teacher because I am dyslexic, so excuse my spelling, I'm trying my best. I thought this was a very negative thing to tell me and I would not take no for an answer. Later, I moved onto Roger Williams University, where the staff were supportive of me and my pursuit of teaching. I received my first certification in Elementary Education. But at that point I was tired of school and wanted to travel the world, my other passion in life. So I started working on yachts, and I'm talking those big ones that come in and out of Newport, RI each summer. I traveled up and down the east coast to Maine, Nova Scotia, Maryland, Florida, then to Central America: Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico and the west coast to California, Washington, Vancouver, and Alaska When I moved back to Rhode Island I started the long journey of finding a teaching job. I found this to be quite discouraging, but just as before I did not let this get me down. I finally received a call on the second day of school in fall 2009 to be a long term substitute in a 6th grade humanities class, I loved it, just as I knew I would. This position led me to Rhode Island College, to earn my middle school math certification. With this new certification in hand, I once again was on the hunt. This time my hunt took me to New Bedford, a community with a rich and diverse history. New Bedford and my family also have a long history. My family once made sails for whaling ships. I was excited to learn more about this community and really explore New Bedford's history. I became the 7 and 8th grade math and science teacher at Our Sisters' School. I spent two years at OSS, where I became the Math and Science Department Head, Advisory Coordinator, Schedule Coordinator and so much more. I loved OSS and I learned so much from my time at OSS, but at the end of the school year in June of 2014 I decided to conquer my next mountain, graduate school. I have always loved school and it had been too long and I needed to make it a priory in my life. I left New Bedford and journey back to "the island," aka Aquidneck Island.
Being back home has made very happy and I know this is where I want to be. I love the water and need to see it every day. You can often find my down at the beach, in the water or sailing my sunfish.
(*This picture is not on my sunfish, don't have a picture, it's a wet boat, no place for a camera!)
I am very excited to be back in school, it has always been a place where I thrive. Now I just need to find a few more jobs to support my habit of school and teaching.
Cheers, Jenny
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