Mr. Jernigan, a teacher in the technology department, is in his first year at LHS. He’s taught high school, middle school, and at a K-12 school in his 20 years of teaching.
At Littleton, he’ll be teaching a number of classes. “Primarily I’ll be teaching career technology education courses down in the shop below the art rooms. I’ll be teaching technical drawing, MYP design, and some woods in the second semester,” said Mr. Jernigan.
Mr. Jernigan describes his teaching style in the classroom as being “an empathy-driven teacher and I believe firmly that when students feel the power of their energy in my classroom, it will help others. They can take off and do anything and feel successful.”
He added that his approach to technology with students is “about being human first and then solving problems using technology.”
Mr. Jernigan will also be sponsoring the Technology Student Association. “This is my 3rd school where I will have taught and run TSA.”
He is passionate about the work that students are able to do in TSA, commenting that “I believe firmly that if congress could come and see these TSA competitions and how excited students are about learning and learning with each other, they would see that this is probably what education should be like.”
Prior to teaching, Mr. Jernigan “was a graphic designer and saw all of my friends who got jobs as educators, and listening and talking to them, I learned their background. I wasn’t happy being behind a computer all day and wanted to be around people.”
When COVID hit, he went down different career paths before he returned to teaching.
“I started a non-profit connected to the University of Colorado at Boulder and also to Children’s hospital. We brought students from the university into Children’s hospital and we manufactured toys for health-impacted kids,” he said. “I was also a curriculum developer for a national for-profit that was doing stem education after school for kids.”
He’s hopeful for his time at Littleton, describing that “the respect that I see from my students is just off the charts.”
In the future, Mr. Jernigan says that his “Big vision is that I want to bring a more diverse group than what I’ve seen on my rosters coming in.”
He also has future aspirations for a group within the school.
“I would like to see something where there’s an art and design kind of group,” he said. “We have 3D printers, we have CNC mills, we have woodworking tools, we have other tools, we have electronics. Maybe a place where people can come and explore a little more where they can feel free to stretch their muscles.”
If you would like to learn more, Mr. Jernigan welcomes all students to visit his room that would like to learn more about the technology department.
