MES Teacher Spotlight - Jennifer Bell

Jennifer Bell was born in California; however, she grew up in Ketchikan, Alaska. After graduating from Ketchikan High School, Bell attended the University of Montana. She later attended and graduated from the University of Phoenix with her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She is currently working on getting a Tech Endorsement as well as working on credits for a master’s degree in Computer Science in Education.

After working in the classroom in multiple capacities for nearly a decade, Bell began her formal teaching career 11 years ago, teaching fourth grade in Park City, Utah. After teaching fourth and fifth grade in Park City, she moved to South Carolina, where she taught in a mixed-grade classroom. While there, she was introduced to robotics in the classroom. She then spent the next five years at The McGillis School in Salt Lake City, teaching kindergarten through fifth grade along with the occasional sixth grade science class. “At the time, Lego Robotics was used in fifth grade for a brief time, but not in other classrooms,” said Bell. “I developed and implemented a science curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade, incorporating Lego Robotics into each of these science classrooms.”

Bell is currently in her first year teaching at Morgan Middle School, where she is teaching Computer Science with a robotics emphasis in which she says she feels blessed to be teaching fifth and sixth graders. Bell recalls learning how to type in high school on a typewriter because they did not have computers. “We did not have computers until I was a senior in high school, and I had to walk up to the community college to take the class. It is a bit ironic that I am now teaching Computer Science and Robotics.”

“When I was in high school, I started working with at-risk children and doing volunteer work. This extended into community programs and my work in preschool programs into my early adult life. I originally went into nursing; however, I decided to become a teacher recalling the impactful times I spent with many of these children,” said Bell.

“I love the energy children bring and the excitement you see in them when students’ eyes light up, and they are excited about something they are learning or used problem-solving to accomplish a task.” 

In February, Bell moved from Draper, Utah, to Coalville, Utah, because they wanted to get out of the city into a smaller community.

When Bell was 19 years old, she met her husband while visiting family in California. He was stationed in the Navy and had come home for Thanksgiving with her stepbrother. They have been married for 26 years and have two “amazing” adult sons. 

In her spare time, Bell loves to hike with her family and husky, Koa. They love to travel, scuba dive and just explore the world whenever they can.