English teacher Jonathan Kern involves his students in in-depth, cross-curricular projects at Julia A. Landon Middle School in Jacksonville. Each year he chooses a theme such as "heroes," assigns a book related to the theme that can be integrated with science classes (such as Spiderman comics for a unit on spiders), and has students write their own books on the subject. Mr. Kern conducts a book publishing workshop for teachers, facilitates a book tournament at a local bookstore, and communicates regularly with parents through a weekly newsletter. He is chair of the Language Arts Department and a master teacher for the National Teachers Training Institute (through PBS). Prior to teaching, Mr. Kern served on board the U.S.S. Saratoga during the Persian Gulf War and spent time in the U.S. Marines.
1997 University of North Florida, B.A.
