Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post, and with it being a new year, I figured I’d take a moment to reintroduce myself. I’m Jacquelyn, professional school counselor and parent coach. Learn Today with Mama J all began while I was as stay at home mom with my daughter. Before staying at home, I worked as a school counselor. Prior to that, I was an elementary school teacher. Within my time as an educator in the public school system, I worked with a variety of parents and students. I have experience with diverse backgrounds, special educational needs and plans, extreme behaviors, and everything in between. With 15 years of experience, I have been involved in a variety of situations.

Once my daughter entered her part time preschool, I engaged with more parents in the area and collaborated with previous colleagues about parenting. The more I found myself in conversations, the more I realized there was a large gap between parents and educators.

This gap has always existed. The difference was, I had never been on the parenting side. As an educator, I valued my parents and wanted to collaborate with them to create the best outcome for the child. This was my mentality from a classroom teacher to being a school counselor. It was the best way to achieve the highest outcome for the student.

However, as a parent, and discussing concerns with parents, I realized rapidly this wasn’t always the case. Understanding the inner workings of a school is not common knowledge to parents, which often leads them to feel they are in the dark. Over time, this has caused a deep tension between parents and schools limiting the ability to make changes for the child in need.

This tension, this gap, led me to take my professional experience and make it more useful and impactful for parents. Within a school, I can only address the needs of so many parents. But I realized quickly, outside of the school, I could have a much greater impact. This is how Learn Today With Mama J was created.

Education is my passion and my background. Content creation and the business side of things have been a huge learning curve. But we all have to put ourselves out there if we want to invoke change. Change feels uncomfortable at any level and any age. However, as I continue to learn and work through the kinks, I am finding more joy in assisting families than I could have imagined! The ability to help families and students with their educational needs outside of a school setting is something that was not on my Bingo card for my career. But I’m driven to make navigating education less overwhelming for parents.

As a parent, you have enough on your plate and an abundance of information at your fingertips. So much information can be contradictory and confusing. It can leave you wondering if you’re even doing anything right when it comes to your children. I get it, because I find myself feeling that way at times with my own child. When it comes to education, there is a ton of information that will explain that your path in an educational setting is wrong and you’re destroying your child’s future. We can be left feeling there is only one way. Except, there isn’t one way to parent, and there’s not one right way to handle your child’s education.

Do I believe the educational system is flawed? Absolutely. Do I believe the changes that are about to come about will make it more challenging for parents? Sure do.

I also believe that some mongering parents who advocate one size fits or offer a super niche solution isn’t fair either.

Which is why, now more than ever, I want to support parents in navigating their child’s educational journey. I want to help them feel less frantic and more confident with their decision making. I want parents to know how to hold other members in the school accountable, where to find information to support their child’s needs, and how to advocate effectively with the school to achieve the best outcome for the child.

Private, Charter, and Homeschooling are not always better. While it can be highly beneficial for a student, it doesn’t mean it will work for your child. Just because it works for one family does not mean it will necessarily work for your family or that it is in your capability to do so at this time. This is why it is important to understand how to confidently advocate for your child. This is what I am here to help you with.

My job is to take my professional experience, my parenting perspectives, and give you as much information as possible to help you navigate the concern you’re having. I believe in giving you the information for you to use how it works best within your situation and family. You know your children better than anyone. Which is why some things I may say will make you go, “Yea, that won’t work!” But then something else might make you believe, “I could take a part of this and apply it to what we’re already doing to make a bigger impact.” Or, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. That is awesome!”

I created four courses with parents in mind. I truly thought of the countless families I have worked with over my career and how I handled meetings helping them with their children. In each of these courses, I’m speaking to you as a fellow parent and as a counselor who just wants to see you succeed. The topics of these courses were inspired by the biggest areas of concern I saw in the schools and heard about from fellow parents. These are the three behavior courses that give strategies and information on anxiety, tantrums, and impulse control. The final course I created was designed to help you advocate for your child. This is the course that will allow the parents and teachers to be on the same page and empower you as a parent navigating education.

Like I stated previously, change can feel uncomfortable. It might feel uncomfortable or scary to pay for one of these courses. I get it, I’m the person who always adds to cart and thinks about it for weeks. But I’m here to tell you, YOU are worth investing in.

I’m not here to sell you on my courses, though. I’m here to tell you that I see how hard you’re working to navigate the many facets of being a parent. I see you trying to decipher all the information out there. I see you worrying about your child and their education.

What I want you to know is, I’m here to support you. I don’t want you to feel alone in this endeavor. I don’t want you to feel your back is against the wall. I want to help solve with you and provide insight to help you confidently move forward in your journey.

Learn Today With Mama J has been one of the most challenging experiences in my career, but I am grateful to be your support system and I’m honored you are here trusting me with your family. If nobody has told you today, I hope you know I see how great of a parent you are and you’re doing a great job!

Thank you for being along this journey with me and I look forward to seeing even more growth for you in this upcoming year.