- December 20, 2024
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Jessica Bowman has been teaching for 13 years at Imagine School at Town Center, but this is the first time she has won — or even been nominated for — Teacher of the Year.
"She possesses a genuine passion for teaching," a press release from Imagine School said about Bowman winning Teacher of the Year. "Ms. Bowman goes above and beyond to ensure that each child feels supported and inspired to reach their full potential."
Bowman has taught across most of the age groups at Imagine, starting with kindergarten in her first year of teaching. This year, she's teaching seventh graders for the first time and middle school-aged kids, she said, are her favorite to teach.
Ms. Bowman goes above and beyond to ensure that each child feels supported and inspired to reach their full potential."
— PRESS RELEASE, Imagine School
"They're sarcastic, they love big and they need as much love as they can get. And as much empathy and the extra support," Bowman said. "They're my favorite people."
Originally, Bowman said she went to school for nursing, but when she was struggling with her anatomy and physiology class, she said she had to take a moment and consider if nursing was really the right path for her. During that time is when she began studying for education instead.
"I think it was God telling me 'education,' because it had never been a thought in my mind," she said. "And suddenly it was like, 'oh, I could do that.'"
Teaching also gave her the opportunity to spend more time with her own children in school, she said, and to be more involved in their education.
Bowman creates an "engaging and nurturing environment that fosters a love for learning among her students," both as a teacher and a peer coach, the press release said.
"Ms. Bowman lives and breathes Imagine," it said.
Her goal as a teacher, she said, is to foster meaningful relationships with all of her students and support them as they continue to grow.
"I don't want them to forget about me when they leave," she said. "I want to support them through their education years."
Bowman leads Imagine's Fellowship for Christian Athletes' seventh and eighth grade huddles. She is also the chair of Shared Values, one of the school-wide measures of excellence that emphasizes integrity, justice and fun.
I don't want them to forget about me when they leave," she said. "I want to support them through their education years."
— JESSICA BOWMAN, Imagine Schools Teacher of the Year
Bowman said one of the kindergarten students she taught in her first year of teaching has graduated and now has come back to work at Imagine. "So that's really special," she said.
Bowman said she has worked at Imagine her entire teaching career and loves working at her school, where she feels loved as an individual. The school places an emphasis on family more than anything else, she said.
"I'm not just a number," she said. "And my kids aren't just a number."
