Who is Ms. Jena?

Hello everyone! You may have heard your kids referring to a Ms. Jena, that’s me. I was formerly an assistant teacher in Toddler ADM before transferring to the role of Movement Teacher recently.  I am grateful to have begun in this way as it enabled me to gain so much insight into Montessori pedagogy, allowing me to develop a movement curriculum that coincides with all the goals Montessori has for young children. 

(Thanks Ms. Michelle and Ms. Dominique for being such great teachers to me as well as the children!) 

My background lies in dance choreography, performance, education, and somatic disciplines. I received my BFA in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where I went through extensive coursework in movement pedagogy. 

From there, I toured with the West Virginia Dance Company, bringing dance performance and STEAM movement workshops to k-12 students both regionally and nationally, while simultaneously teaching dance at local studios in West Virginia. 

I moved to Philly in 2019 to teach gymnastics and dance to ages 6 mos-9 years. My time teaching adult/child classes gave me a love for sharing movement pedagogy with the grown-ups of the students I was teaching. As such, I asked if I could launch a movement blog and was thrilled that Greene Towne was just as excited as I was. 

In my spare time, I am still a working free-lance artist, showing work, performing, teaching, and maintaining my own small dance company. I’m always committed to expanding my own resources and knowledge in order to best serve my students. Most recently, I completed my 200/hr yoga teacher training through Studio 34 right here in Philly and have loved every minute of bringing that into the Greene Towne Movement Program.

That’s enough about me. Please head to the next blog for some insight into what this curriculum looks like. I cannot wait to share what they are doing each day with all of you. Take care and be well. 

-Ms. Jena