Jackson-Reed has decided to add 18 teaching and administrative positions to the budget for next school year, in an effort to meet student demand for additional support and resources. 

The budget increased the size of Jackson-Reed’s staff to address the needs of the rapidly growing student body. Resources have become more scarce due to overcrowding at Jackson-Reed over the past few years. As a result, many departments are currently unequipped to handle the needs of their students. 

 Two instructional positions will expand existing departments. An English teacher and math teacher are being added to the school next year to address the overcrowding issue. The increase in personnel intends to decrease class sizes and teacher stress. 

The budget includes two additional counselors, one of which will work with the seniors. In the beginning of the year, one of the two 12th grade counselors was indisposed, leaving counselors responsible for other grades to write all the letters of recommendation for the senior class.

 “As the population of the school grows, we need additional counselors. One is going to be at the senior level, and we will have one counselor who will be a support counselor,.” Interim Principal Gregory Bargeman said. Some of the 18 positions include new roles, ones that did not exist at Jackson-Reed this year.

One job that is completely new, is the JROTC Cyber Security Teacher. This is an addition to the JROTC program, and it will come with the introduction of ‘cyber cadets,’ who will be part of the JROTC program with a cyber security focus. This initiative is funded by the US Military and the FBI, and Jackson-Reed will be one of two schools in the country that offers this program. 

Jackson-Reed is also seeking to expand its specialized instruction programs. A Director of Specialized Education is being added, along with a Program Coordinator who will be responsible for working in the specialized instruction track specifically. 

Another Program Coordinator will be added to organize testing as well. This person would be charged with coordination SAT Testing, PARCC Testing, and potentially AP testing. However, PARCC Tests and AP Exams follow each other closely, so it might be difficult to task one person with coordinating it all. 

Bargeman added that Jackson-Reed is seeking to promote social emotional learning (SEL). An additional social worker is being added, bringing the school total to six. 

“Because of COVID, social emotional learning, and all this, our social workers have been kind of overloaded with multiple students, so we decided to add another one,” Bargeman said.

According to Bargeman, the budget also includes an Attendance Counselor, Administrative Officer,  Health and Physical Education teacher,  Educational Aide, In-School Suspension Coordinator,  Learning Experience Coordinator, CSL for Technology, and a Learning Experience Coordinator. •