Jennifer Burnham ’24 Teaches Youth in a Classroom She Can Finally Call Her Own
By Judith Kelliher
While on a tour of Springfield College for the first time in 2019, Jennifer Burnham ’24 loved the tight-knit feeling that she got from the College community and enjoyed taking in the campus beauty. But it wasn’t until she later attended an open house where she got a chance to learn about the Education programs that she could see herself as a student here.
“Being able to hear from current students and professors and seeing how the education classroom looked like a classroom, made me feel comfortable. The experience made me want to pursue Elementary and Special Education at Springfield College so that one day I could have a classroom of my own,” Burnham said.
During her senior year, Burnham was one of the Education students who spoke to prospective students about the Education program. To her, it felt full circle, as she was the one trying to inspire future educators to come to Springfield College.
As a first-generation student, she worked hard in all of her classes, ending with a 4.0 GPA, awarded summa cum laude, and was the School of Arts and Sciences undergraduate student marshal at graduation in 2024.
“Academics have always been important to me, especially as someone who was going into the field, and I worked hard with my professors to make sure I got the most out of my classes,” Burnham said. “As a naturally introverted person, I was worried about making friends in college, but quickly found my group freshman year, and am still friends with them till this day.”
After graduation, her goal of teaching in her own classroom came true. Burnham is currently an associate instructor at Connecticut-based Capitol Region Education Council (CREC), which provides high-quality education for students in the Greater Hartford area. Each CREC school has an individualized focus, such as international studies, engineering, and aerospace, where students and families can choose a CREC magnet school instead of a school in their home district.
In her pre-practicum and student teaching experiences at western Massachusetts school districts in Springfield and Chicopee while an undergraduate, she learned how to teach small group and whole class lessons, manage student behaviors, assess students’ performance and growth, and how to work with parents.
“I have to use data-driven resources to teach small groups of students ranging from first to third grade. My student teaching experience as a second and third grade special education teacher have proven to be especially helpful in this setting as the students that I work with are below grade level in reading and math,” Burnham said. “I have to create differentiated instruction in order to meet the varied needs of the students in my group and manage student behavior so that students feel supported and can, with support, work to become on grade level with standards and assessments.”
Burham’s efforts at CREC were recognized by her peers. She was given the CREC Shining Star Award in October and January 2024, which is peer nominated and given to four staff members each time. She was honored to receive the recognitions, a rarity for someone to receive the award twice in one year.
Now into her second year at CREC, Burham has learned how to create a healthy work-life balance. She has found being a teacher very challenging, and the work never seems to end, so it was easy for her to let work bleed into her home life.
“I have learned to leave work at work so that I can support my mental health. Another way that my career has impacted me outside of work has been by increasing my patience and kindness,” she said. “These traits are necessary when working with children, and they have transferred into my life outside of work as well. This has helped me foster relationships with everyone I meet and made me a better person.”
Going forward, Burnham sees elementary education focusing on a “whole child” learning approach. As elementary educators, it is their job to teach the core academics, including reading, math, science, and social studies, but also support children’s social and emotional needs.
“As technology increases more in the children’s lives, it is important that we teach them interpersonal and intrapersonal skills so that they are able to be better humans. It is a very challenging field, but I truly feel that Springfield College graduates are prepared to enter the field and perform at the highest level,” Burnham said.
