Dr. CHJ Consulting
Meet Dr. CHJ
Dr. Chelsee Hudson Jacobs is the founder of Dr. CHJ Consulting, LLC. Ever since she was a child, Dr. CHJ wanted to follow in her Grandma Ruby’s footsteps and become a teacher. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Early Childhood and Childhood Education at Hofstra University and graduated summa cum laude. She continued her studies and enrolled in the Master of Science in Education Literacy program at Hofstra University while beginning her teaching career as an elementary teacher in a high needs school district in Long Island, NY – close to where she grew up and in the same school where Grandma Ruby worked for several years. Recognizing the low teacher morale that existed in the school she was working in at the time, Dr. CHJ decided to enroll in Hofstra’s Advanced Certificate Educational Leadership program to learn more about how she could improve teacher-administrator relationships and create a foundation for both teachers and students to grow. While teaching, she had the opportunity to take on leadership roles such as Department Coordinator and Extended Day Program Manager. During her final year as a classroom teacher, Dr. CHJ received the Outstanding Teacher Award presented by Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory in 2018.
Dr. CHJ soon transitioned into an assistant principal position where she worked hard to provide quality instructional feedback for teachers and build relationships with teachers, students, and caregivers. In Fall 2020, Dr. CHJ made the decision to join the Relay Graduate School of Education team in Dallas-Fort Worth to continue her work supporting teachers. Since then, she has worked in several roles at Relay – coaching, teaching, and cultivating educators and currently serving as the Texas Clinical Practice Director. Dr. CHJ considers herself to be a lifelong learner, and she earned a doctoral degree in Educational and Policy Leadership at Hofstra University in Spring 2023 after researching teacher leadership behaviors across generations, which provided the foundation for the approach she would use to start her consulting business.
Why Dr. CHJ Consulting?
Although Dr. CHJ has enjoyed working in her roles as a PK-12 and higher education instructor and leader, throughout her career, she has felt a push to do more to support other educators. Navigating the world of education is NO JOKE, and it is easy to get lost and resort to leaving the profession. While Dr. CHJ is grateful for the mentors she had throughout her career, she wishes that she had more guidance on how to lead from within the classroom and beyond. Dr. CHJ initially thought what she was experiencing earlier on in her career was “burnout.” However, it was actually a strong desire to move to the next level of her career, become a problem solver, and do what she loves in a different capacity. Dr. CHJ hopes to continue to expand her connections with educators across the country to fulfill her mission:
My mission as an educator is to empower teachers to become leaders who realize their limitless potential, advocate for students, and foster a collaborative environment that encourages risk-taking and meaningful learning experiences.
Why Should Teachers and School/District Leaders Care About This Work?
Through her dissertation “Exploring Teacher’s Leadership Behaviors Across Generations,” Dr. CHJ found that the lowest mean score for teachers, regardless of generation group, was in the leading change category of the Teacher Leadership Self-Assessment (Katzenmeyer & Moller, 2009) used for the study – taken by over 400 teacher participants across the country. Based on significant differences between younger generations and older generations, Millennials and Gen Zers in particular could benefit from more professional development in the teacher leadership category of self-awareness to close the gap that may exist between them and Gen Xers/Baby Boomers. Self-awareness is defined by Katzenmeyer and Moller (2009) as, “Teacher has an accurate picture of self in terms of strengths, values, philosophies, and behaviors” (p. 55). Dr. CHJ’s workshops take a self-awareness approach where educators are able to reflect on their teacher leadership practices and engage with others in a safe space to set and reach their goals. My goal is to keep teachers from leaving the field and help them recognize their potential so they can instead draw closer to this important work. According to Katzenmeyer and Moller (2009), “Within every school, there is a sleeping giant of teacher leadership that can be a strong catalyst for making changes to improve student learning” (p. 2). Dr CHJ is up for the challenge of awakening the “sleeping giants” in your school/district!
Katzenmeyer, M., & Moller, G. (2009). Awakening the sleeping giant: Helping teachers develop as leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.