Finding Joy in Everything Teachers Are with Jazzmyne Townsend

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"When it’s in you, it’s in you, and you can’t run from it." 

That’s what Jazzmyne Townsend’s mom told her as she avoided a career in education to study business administration and marketing. But when Jazzmyne graduated from college during a recession and found work as a paraprofessional, it set her on a 16-year path toward being named the 2025 D.C. Teacher of the Year and a National Teacher of the Year Finalist. 

In this episode, Jazzmyne shares how she creates lessons that stick with students by having them build aquariums out of fruit boxes and construct simulations of the Wright brothers’ inventions. Jazzmyne also shares the “why” that sustains her through challenges in this conversation filled with powerful takeaways for new teachers and experienced educators. 

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