Jesica Pearce, a Special Education teacher from Jacksonville in northern Florida, has earned a 2024 Gladys Prior Award for Career Teaching Excellence.  Photo Credit:University of North Florida

There are many dedicated and deserving educators who work in our nation’s schools. Occasionally, one of them receives recognition for their outstanding achievements. One of these is Jesica Pearce, an elementary school Special Education teacher from Florida. She has garnered a coveted 2024 Gladys Prior Award for Career Teaching Excellence. She is one of four northern Florida educators to win the award, which comes with a $17,000 check.

Jesica teaches students with varying exceptionalities to third, fourth, and fifth graders at Lake Lucina Elementary School in Jacksonville. Her career as an educator spans 22 years, almost all of them in Duval County Public Schools.

In addition to her Gladys Prior Award, Jesica was named a Duval County Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist. She was also named Lake Lucina Elementary Teacher of the Year in both 2013 and 2023. Furthermore, she has also been honored as a Microsoft Innovative Education Expert and received the prestigious Cindy Edelman Excellence in Teaching Fellowship.

Jesica earned her Bachelor’s degree in Childhood Education. She earned her Master’s degree in Art Eucation from Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts. Currently she is pursuing a second Master’s degree in Global Education through Arizona State University.

The Gladys Prior Awards for Career Teaching Excellence were established in 1998 by philanthropist Gilchrist Berg, founder and president of Water Street Capital, to honor teachers who have accomplished lifelong careers in education. Over the last 26 years, Berg has distributed more than $2 million to honor teachers in the Jacksonville area. The award is named after Berg’s fourth-grade teacher at Ortega Elementary School, Gladys Prior. The University of North Florida College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) manages the award on behalf of Berg.