Jennifer Carlson is not going to let her students take the easy way out. After 21 years of teaching, she’s used to challenging her students. “As soon as I lower my expectations for them, I’ve made it ok to not do their best,” Carlson emphasized. It is because of that attitude and the positive results she gets in her classroom that Carlson was recently named as Britton-Hecla’s Teacher of the Year.
Carlson is a native of Minot, North Dakota. She felt the call to teaching early in life when she was the instructor at a horse camp. After high school, she attended Minot State University and honed in on her calling even more when she took a geology class. “I knew Earth Science was going to be my passion,” she explains. She would continue that focus as she gained a degree in science education.
Carlson’s first few years in teaching took her far and wide. Her first job was in Colorado and then she found herself in Kansas. She was teaching back in Bismarck, North Dakota, when she met her future husband, Ryan, a Britton native. The relationship took her to northeastern South Dakota and set her up for an amazing career at the local school district.
Upon moving to the Britton in 2009, Carlson substitute taught in both Britton-HeclaandLangford. She took a parttime contract in Langford for a year and then made the complete move to BH when Stu Elgethun retired in 2009. Since then, Carlson hasn’t slowed down and has only expanded her many teaching areas.
Carlson teaches seventh graders through seniors. She teaches intro to science, shop class, robotics, drafting, cabinetry, engineering and conceptual physics. She said her repertoire of classes expanded due to a few factors, including gaining a Masters degree in technology education from Valley City State. “I really started getting in to CTE (career technical education) classes then. She also credits Shad Storley, her principal, for encouraging her to become proficient in areas such as engineering and robotics.
In addition to her in-classroom duties, Carlson has also been the student council advisor for about fifteen years and is on the eve of her fifth year instructing driver’s education. “Driver’s ed is an absolute hoot,” she says. “It’s a time you really get to talk to students and learn about them. It’s an opportunity to plant the seeds and make an investment in the future.”
When asked what her favorite teaching area is, Carlson stresses that she really enjoys working with middle schoolers. “I feel like that grade level is my purpose on Earth. Those students want to please and want to work hard,” she said. “Also, if you raise your seventh and eighth graders right, they will be great high schoolers.”
As far as her teaching load goes, it certainly hasn’t escaped her notice that she is one of few women in her field. (Carlson said she is one of two female robotics coaches she knows of and doesn’t run into many other women shop teachers). Yet, this isn’t something Carlson focuses on. “I don’t feel like I have to prove myself, because my students’ work speaks for itself,” she says.
Her students’ work and her own certainly has not gone unnoticed as evidenced from her recent award for B-H Teacher of the Year. On all levels, Carlson is appreciated and lauded. A coworker who nominated her for the award said, “Mrs. Carlson is a great educator and coworker. She does a fantastic job with the student council. Personally, it is very rare to leave a conversation with her and not feel glad you ran into her.”
Her administrator agrees. Middle and High School Principal Carrie James said, “Mrs. Carlson is passionate about her students and what they are learning. It is easy to see that she is having fun while teaching, but that she means business and has high expectations for students. I find that her students have great respect for her, and she easily builds relationships with them. She takes teaching very seriously and her commitment to our school and the world of education is easy to witness.”
The parents of Carlson’s students also can not say enough good things around her. “Mrs. Carlson is a joy to have as my son’s teacher,” said one of the parents who nominated the Teacher of the Year. “She is always smiling, encouraging, firm, kind, forgiving but steady in her word and ideals, and makes [my son] feel like he matters and is capable. He thinks the world of her. She makes learning fun and [my son] enjoys her class greatly.”
Another parent who also nominated Carlson spoke about how comfortable the teacher makes her son feel in her classes. “When my son first came to BHHS in eighth grade from home schooling, Mrs. Carlson welcomed him right away and was willing to go the extra mile to pull him out of his shell. She made him feel wanted and expressed her belief that he could succeed in robotics class. I can’t tell you what that means to a parent. Middle school students can be a challenge, but she sees through some of their behavioral issues to the individual and loves them.”
When she was surprised with the Teacher of the Year award just last week while teaching, Carlson said she was pretty emotional. “I was flattered and humbled,” she said. “I’m not working for a trophy or prize, but it is nice to be recognized.”
She added that she is so gratified to be working among so many other great people as well. “Britton-Hecla is where it’s at as far as I’m concerned. We have a great community and school and I’m happy that my own children go here.”
Considering Carlson is still loving her role as an educator, she isn’t likely to slow down anytime soon. “I still enjoy the classroom and my students. It’s like having an additional 80 children and I find working with them so fulfilling.”
When she is not in the classroom, Carlson, her husband and their three children (Kaylee, Rylan and Rylee) enjoy working with their horses and attending rodeos. She also likes to spend time hiking and gardening.
