Jean Capper
Ms. Jean Capper
Special Education
Room 207
Curriculum: Implementing students IEPs.
During the first half of my working life, I followed in the footsteps of my dad and practiced law. For my second half, I am following in the footsteps of my mom, paternal grandfather and paternal grandmother by teaching. I must say that teaching has been much more rewarding and I am glad that I took the plunge. I received my Masters in Special Education from Dominican University through the Teachers for Chicago program. I graduated in 2002 and joined the Newberry staff that fall. I am starting my ninth year at Newberry and am lucky to belong to such a wonderful teaching/learning community.
My philosophy is to work with all my students to reach their potential in both their academic and emotional lives. I have enjoyed and been challenged by Newberrys commitment to team teaching and look forward to helping build even more effective teams to educate all of our students in the least restrictive environment possible.
Besides teaching at Newberry, I have also served on the Professional Development Committee and the Scheduling Committee, working to create a stronger learning environment for both our students and our teachers.
When you enter through the front door, you see the fruits of one of my other passionsgardening. I have headed the Garden Committee for several years and work closely with Chicago Cares to provide volunteer opportunities for the wider Chicago community. During the spring, summer and fall, volunteers come every month to help us weed and maintain the garden. We were able to install an outdoor classroom area and turn a corner into a butterfly habitat.
When I am not teaching or gardening or attending after-school meetings, I can be found reading or playing online scrabble. My students are amazed by the thought that I do not have a working TV in my home. Last spring, when my daughter was at Newberry helping judge science fair, several of my students cornered her and said, You wont believe what your mom told us about when you were growing up! She wasnt sure what to expect, but they proceeded to quiz her on how she survived having only one hour of TV a night and only one TV in the whole house! She laughed and told them she read books and played a lot of board games.
During the summers, I enjoy sailing and spending time in Michigan. This summer, my husband and I raced our sailboat, Hornet, to Mackinac in July. My husband completed his 54th Chicago to Mackinac race and I completed my 19th. All three of my children also race, together with my dad.
