Jessica May is a family and consumer sciences teacher at Turner Middle School in Berthoud, Colorado, focused not only on cooking and sewing, but also self-care, social emotional learning, life skills (including personal finances), child development and school to career. She also teaches reading in the real world to all sixth, seventh and eighth grade students.  

May earned her Bachelor of Science in social sciences with an emphasis in elementary education from the University of Northern Colorado in 1996 and her master’s in educational leadership from Colorado State University in 2018. May earned her district’s Commitment to Excellence award in 2016, Conrad Ball Middle School’s New to the Nest Teacher of the Year in 2019, the Thompson Education Foundation’s Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2020 and Rotary Teacher of the Month in 2021.  

May is passionate about creating strong relationships with her students, believing in them until they believe in themselves, and inspiring all students to read, read, read.