Jennifer Hlavka serves as the Coordinator for National Board Certification & Teacher Career Pathways in Howard County, Maryland. Jennifer started her teaching career with Baltimore City Public Schools, teaching elementary grades before being named a Response to Intervention Coordinator for grades K–8 in reading and math. During this time, she was identified as a City Schools Model Teacher. Later, she was promoted to the BCPSS District Office as a Teacher Development Specialist before transitioning to a similar role in Howard County. In HCPSS, she has partnered with teacher leaders to develop and scale a nationally recognized, award-winning support program for National Board Certification candidates, ranking among the top five in Maryland and the United States. Jennifer also leads system-wide initiatives such as instructional mentoring, Title II-A and major grant funding, teacher leadership initiatives, and implementation of high-impact professional learning.
Jennifer received her Master of Arts in Teaching and her Administration & Supervision certificate from Johns Hopkins University, her Literacy Coach certificate from the University of Maryland, and her Master of Business Administration from Loyola University Maryland. She has taught at the graduate level for Johns Hopkins University and regularly teaches courses for teacher and administrator certification renewal. In recognition of her excellence in instruction, she received the Diane Tobin Award for Excellence in Education from Johns Hopkins University School of Education.
Jennifer also has the pleasure of working with ICG as a training consultant and has facilitated sessions at the local, state, and national levels in conferences and other professional development settings. She has published articles on the topic of instructional coaching and regularly coaches new and experienced teachers and leaders. Jennifer is a GCI Coaching Accreditation Program Trained Coach.
Jennifer’s career is grounded in a joy for learning with a focus on providing professional learning that sparks curiosity and engagement. In each learning experience, Jennifer aims to strengthen the capacity, motivation, and efficacy for those who serve public education to create learning environments where every student and staff member looks forward to their work together each day.
Contact information:
Email– jhlavka@instructionalcoaching.com
Threads– @jenniferhlavka
Linkedin– https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-hlavk
See Jennifer’s Coaching Conversation Podcast Episode with Jim Knight
Read Jennifer’s Work: Curiosity: the Key Ingredient to a Well-Balanced Data Diet
