Lindsey Jensen

Lindsey L. Jensen is the 2018 Illinois Teacher of the Year and the 2020 National Education Association Foundation for Teaching Excellence Illinois Awardee. She is Vice-President of the Illinois State Teachers of the Year Chapter, and she serves on the Illinois State Board of Education State Preparation and Licensure Board as an Illinois Education Association Representative. Lindsey is a Teach Plus Policy Alum, and she is an Advisory Board Member for the Region 9 Comprehensive Center. She has over 15 years of educational experience, holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Southern Illinois University, a master’s degree in secondary English education from Oakland City University, and she is finishing her doctorate in the fall of 2020 in teaching and learning from Illinois State University. In her free time, Lindsey travels the country speaking and engaging in educational advocacy. She has delivered over 100 keynotes at Northwestern University, SXSWEdu, The National Association of Teacher Educators Conference, The Raising Student Achievement Conference, and WITCon. She is a proud public school teacher and academic dean in Dwight, Illinois.

Posts By Lindsey Jensen

equity

The System Is Not Built for Teachers to Have an Opinion

At the close of the 2020-2021 school year, I experienced the most significant “break-up” of my life. The following is my unexpected farewell to teaching ......

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CRT

For Teacher Appreciation Week, Let’s Give Teachers Something They Really Want

I wanted to write the standard feel-good piece for Teacher Appreciation Week. I really did, but it just felt inauthentic. Don’t get me wrong. I love teaching and I love teachers. However, it’s hard...

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Mental Health

I’m Telling My Story So My Female Students Never Feel Powerless Like I Did

I am a firm believer that in order to become an anti-oppressive educator and advocate, one must fully understand the nature of oppression. While finishing my dissertation last year, I spent a...

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Achievement Gap

To the People Pushing Back on Culturally Responsive Teaching During Black History Month

A war has been waging in my home state of Illinois, and the battle lines have been drawn. In one corner of the ring—the “uber leftists” who justify the need for the Illinois State Department of...

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School Funding

Advocating for My Students Requires Being Political on My Own Time

With election season upon us, like clockwork, the collective efforts to stifle the political opinions of educators has begun. Navigating this climate requires a nuanced dance, as we strive to...

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COVID-19

COVID Changed Everything About My Classroom

I cried as I set up my classroom this year. This was no dainty, politely fighting-back-tears kind of cry. It was a violent, sobbing, heaving cry that started as an ache in my chest and climbed its...

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