Jenny Meers joins the Fort Zumwalt School District Human Resources team as the Coordinator of Recruitment and Retention. Meers comes to the district from the School District of Washington. With a bachelor’s degree in English Education from Southeast Missouri State, she started her career at Washington High School, but quickly followed her passion for career education. Since 2015 she has served as the Teaching Careers Instructor and Embedded ELA Coordinator and, in 2016, she added work as a presenter and program trainer with the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Her role at Washington’s Four Rivers Career Center also led her to present on teacher recruitment at state and national conferences.
Meers did all of this while earning a master’s in secondary school administration from Lindenwood and a specialist’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Central Missouri. She is looking forward to getting to know and celebrate Fort Zumwalt staff.
“In this new role, I am especially excited to highlight and celebrate the outstanding work being done every day in our schools,” Meers says. “From innovative classroom practices to powerful support systems, Fort Zumwalt is filled with inspiring stories that deserve to be shared.”
Meers’ role will have her working with FZ Staff in each of the many job categories that make the district go. “One of the things that is really important for us to celebrate is the amount of collaboration and teamwork that goes into making schools work as best as they can for students,” she says. “If our buildings aren't cared for or teachers don’t have the things they need; if students have no way to get to school or they are hungry, then schools can’t fully meet students’ needs. Sharing the stories of staff members that provide those services is important.”
She is an excited Walt Disney World visitor, but enjoys adventures of all kinds, including travel, raising chickens and, most of all, being a mom to her busy 10- and 13-year-old children. “I could talk about my kids all day,” she says, adding how much she enjoys the many ways that they all learn things together. Her passionate optimism might be the reason a quote from Winston Churchill stays with her: "Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts."
“Perseverance is an essential skill in our world today,” Meers says. “We want our students to be surrounded by adults who are creative problem-solvers, who show grit and dedication in every role they play in our schools."
Meers’ hiring completes the district’s HR team after the promotions of Dr. Henry St. Pierre to Superintendent, and Erin Williams to Chief Human Resources Officer and the departure of Dr. Amy Neill. Meers and Jeff Fletcher, who was named Executive Director in January, officially take their new roles July 1.