MCTE Fall 2026 Conference

Jessyca Mathews is a language arts teacher at Carman-Ainsworth High School and a Racial, Environmental Justice, and Institutional Racism activist. In 2017, Jessyca was named a finalist for the NEA's Social Justice Activist of the Year for her work on the Flint water crisis. Jessyca was recently named the Region 5 Teacher of the Year for 2019-2020 and was a finalist for Michigan Teacher of the Year. In 2018 she received the honor of Secondary English Teacher of the year from the Michigan Council of Teachers of English and the Samford Award for Most Inspirational Teacher of MI. Jessyca has done national interviews with USA Today, Time Magazine, and NPR. She has participated in protests and community action to speak on behalf of those affected by the Flint Water Crisis and multiple education areas. She recently has had essays published in McSweeney's and recently had two pieces featured in The Washington Post.