This article was originally published by FCPS on July 3, 2018.

Lauren Jensen, an English teacher at Lewis High School, has been awarded a Lowell Milken Center Fellowship that will enable her to gain knowledge, learn about educational resources, and receive ongoing support to enhance her classroom.

Jensen, who has 13 years of experience as a teacher, teaches English language arts courses ranging from college preparatory to advanced level International Baccalaureate (IB) at Lewis. She provides her students with engaging writing experiences, focusing on providing students with an authentic audience and purpose for their writing.

Jensen's Background

Before returning to Lewis High School in 2016 (where she previously taught from 2002-11), Jensen spent three years teaching at Glen Cove (New York) High School. She served as a writing coach for the Glen Cove School District, conducting professional development for the teaching of writing to members of the teaching community, with a special focus on vertically aligning writing instruction in the district.

A recipient of the Milken Educator Award in 2015, Jensen holds a master's degree from Columbia University and completed a research fellowship at New York University in 2013, during which she conducted research focused on the most successful models for professional development for the teaching of writing, as well as the efficacy of think aloud protocols (TAP) for writing instruction. She is a teacher consultant for two National Writing Project sites: the Northern Virginia Writing Project and the Long Island Writing Project. Jensen has presented at local, state, and national teaching conferences, with a focus on real-world genre writing instruction and its effects on student motivation. 

The Fellowship

The Lowell Milken Center Fellowship, awarded on the basis of merit to educators who have distinguished themselves in teaching respect and understanding through project-based learning or who have the potential for this distinction, provides recipients with the opportunity to collaborate on projects that discover, develop, and communicate the stories of unsung heroes in history.

Fellows gain knowledge, educational resources, and ongoing support to enhance their classrooms and help students cultivate a passion for learning by creating projects that initiate positive change. Fellows emerge prepared to develop unsung heroes projects with their students as they apply and evaluate the stories of role models who have changed the world.