Introduction

My first post told you why I am starting a math blog, so I figured my second post should give you a little background information about who I am. 


My name is Jennifer Williams and I am in my 7th year of teaching math in the northwest mountains of North Carolina. For the past four years, I had the joy of teaching 8th grade math at the middle school in my county.  Luckily, for my sanity, this year I have been transferred back to the high school where I initially began my teaching career. (Let me just say that middle school teachers are crazy, loyal, and hard working. That career path is not for the faint of heart!)


I am married to my wonderful husband, Jamie, and we live about 30 minutes outside of Boone, NC. Jamie works as an insurance agent and is extremely supportive of my job as a teacher. We do not have any children but we have two nieces and two nephews that we love to spend our free time with. I love being “Aunt Jennifer,” as they bring me so much pride and joy! 

Jamie & I - October 2009

I am originally from Durham, NC and moved to the mountains of North Carolina to attended college at Appalachian State University. I graduated from AppState with my Bachelor of Science (2008) and Master of Arts (2009) in Mathematics Education. As a full time graduate student at AppState, I had a graduate assistantship with two professors that worked with rural math educators in the surrounding counties. That's how I found out about the school system where I'm currently employed. Even though I had lived in NC my entire life, I had never heard of this county before. In fact, my first time here was the day of my interview. Now, I can't imagine leaving. 

My school system is relatively small (for the state of North Carolina) and has approximately 3200 students in three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. I am blessed to live in such a beautiful part of our great state. This area is known for its abundance of Christmas tree farms and we are lucky enough to experience all four seasons. I love calling these mountains my home!

The math department dressed up for "Character Day" during Homecoming week.

I am obsessed with making math as fun as possible. I am continuously thinking of how to get my students out of their seats and how to incorporate graphic organizers into my lessons. I try to make things as hands-on as possible. I’m am constantly making changes to benefit my students. I have a passion for math and teaching students. It’s my honor to work with each and every student that comes through my classroom door. My goal is to build a trusting relationship with my students and as a byproduct help them learn math. This year I am teaching Discrete Math and Math 1.


When I’m not teaching, I enjoy biking, skiing, baking desserts, reading nonfiction books, and cross-stitching. I also enjoy doing math for fun. (For some reason, my students find this weird!) I am a self-proclaimed nerd and proud of it! I am the director of my church’s T&T Awana club for 3rd-6th graders and am also the faculty sponsor at my school for CRU- Campus Crusade for Christ.

Jamie & I before the Fletcher Flyer 100K - April 2015

That's all I can think of for now. :)  Feel free to introduce yourself! I'm excited about connecting with more math educators in the MTBoS!