This year, 82 of the 86 SY24 staff positions were filled after Jackson-Reed was granted 28.9 million dollars from the DCPS budget. 

Last year’s teacher shortage left many classrooms without permanent instructors, and the size of the student body limited one-on-one support between counselors and students. 

This school year, Principal Sah Brown and the hiring committee worked hard to ensure that students would be supported by the hiring of new staff. Counselors, deans, instructional coaches, and teachers were some of the positions that were filled, along with Climate and Culture deans to help promote safety and reduce the amount of disciplinary infractions. 

To facilitate the hiring process, Jackson-Reed expanded the number of people interviewing interested parties and started to make offers in early March. Last spring, Principal Brown gave interested staff members a tour of the campus to ensure they could get a better feel for the school and give them an opportunity to ask questions. 

“I wanted people to experience the school as much as possible,” Brown said.

The new School Administration and Operational Support Manager, Jessica Lawrence, said that the building walkthrough was a deciding factor in her choice to work at Jackson-Reed instead of other schools.

“Touring the building with the principal made the interview experience more personal and welcoming, but it also showed how large of a school community Jackson-Reed is.”

English department chair Joseph Welch, who has taught at Jackson-Reed for 7 years, is excited about the impact of the new staff on the school, especially after two senior teachers retired from the English Department. 

“All of the [new hires] are really strong teachers and I’m really excited about having them on staff. And bringing new perspectives and fresh eyes to our problems is always a good thing,” Welch said. 

Similar to Welch, Brown is optimistic about the impact of the new staff. “I would want to see them come in and create a cohesive school community; one that reflects our ROAR values.”

Anthony McMillan, a first-year Social Studies teacher at Jackson-Reed, reflects on Brown’s hopes. “I plan to do my best and educate the students, and [incorporate] all aspects of the curriculum that I can possibly teach them,” said McMillan. 

The large number of new staff will aid the student body as a whole, and will help combat the effects of teacher overturn that many students experienced last fall. 

“We’re in a different place from where we started last year,” Brown said.