Gabrielle Jean-Jacques, affectionately known as Gabby, has been an educator in the Boston Public schools for the past 14 years. Most recently she has headed up the Black Studies Department at Another Course to College High School in Hyde Park, MA serving as the African American Studies teacher including serving as the AP African American Studies teacher in its Year 2 pilot stage. In addition to her teaching role, Gabby leads ACC’s SEL programming as an SEL Specialist. As a native to Boston and a first generation Haitian American, Gabby is a graduate of BPS and stayed local to attend Wheaton College in Norton, MA majoring in Sociology and minoring in African, African-American Diaspora Studies. Before graduating, with her B.A. She spent half her junior year studying abroad in South Africa! Afterwards, she pursued her Masters in Education from the University of Massachusetts at Boston through the Boston Teacher Residency program, resulting in a dual Certification in English Language Arts and Moderate Disabilities. Gabby’s teaching philosophy is grounded in Social Justice, Equity and Culturally Linguistically sustaining practices that infuses Social Emotional learning. She aims to elevate and affirm the identities of her Black and Brown students who have systematically faced inequities and marginalization in the public school system. As a lifelong learner, she continuously engages in professional development experiences that help her create safe and welcoming best practices for her students. Gabby is a happy wife and mom of two children, Washington and Alexielle. She enjoys dancing, cooking plant based dishes, and journaling as a form of self-care.