Jessica Prayer
Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools
Jessica Prayer earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Elizabeth City State University in 2003, a Masters of Arts degree in Childhood Education from New York University in 2005 and the Academically/Gifted and Talented endorsement for grades kindergarten through 12th grade from Barton College in 2015. She also earned National Board Certification for Teachers (NBCT) in Early Middle Childhood Literacy: Reading Language Arts in 2010 with a recent 2020 renewal.
Jessica has been recognized for a variety of awards. She was selected as the Dr. W.T. Griggs Elementary School Teacher of the Year for 2018 – 2019, Northside Elementary School Teacher of the Year for 2010-2011 and 2012-2013, the National Association for Gifted Children Jacob Javits Fraiser Scholar in 2017 and the North Carolina Governor’s Teacher Network in 2014. Jessica has been the recipient of multiple grants that include the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Prism Grant and the Albemarle EMC Bright Ideas Grant. In 2016 Jessica was featured in EdWeek in the article titled “The Cost of Being a Brand New Teacher 2016” and was awarded over $50,000 in Donorschoose.org grant money to support literacy, technology, and classroom environment.
Jessica has served her school communities as an academically gifted and talented teacher, master literacy trainer, a NBCT candidate support provider, a Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports team facilitator, new teacher mentor, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public School’s Math Curriculum Guide Lead Teacher and most recently, working with teachers at Elizabeth City Middle School to develop instructional aligned units of instruction across all subject areas. Jessica has taught grades three through five and has facilitated summer enrichment academies for gifted and talented students. Prior to her selection to the ECU PIRATE Leadership Academy, Jessica was the Instructional Coach at Elizabeth City Middle School.
As a Pirate Leadership Academy fellow, Jessica is looking forward to gaining a deeper understanding of the leadership skills needed to be an effective principal, and gleaning expertise from her collaborative relationships with cohort members to positively impact the communities that she serves.
Her favorite quotes are: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” — Nelson Mandela and “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” — Unknown.