‘Tilly Teachers: JeanMarie Stewart

Photo+provided+by+JeanMarie+Stewart+

Photo provided by JeanMarie Stewart

JeanMarie Stewart is an AP computer science and math teacher. This is her fourth year teaching at Chantilly. 

What encouraged you to become a teacher?

I [have] always wanted to be a teacher since I was in middle school, I had a really amazing middle school math teacher that really inspired me and I just really love helping people learn math. 

Why did you choose Chantilly High school to work at? 

I grew up in Fairfax County and knew I wanted to teach in Fairfax County, and in the places that I interviewed at, I got really good vibes from Chantilly and thought it was a place where I could fit in. 

What is your favorite part of being a teacher at CHS?

This may sound cliche but the students are really amazing, and they surprise me in mostly positive ways, so that’s my favorite part.

Have you faced any hardships as a teacher? How did you overcome these hardships? 

I think teaching, in general, can be really hard sometimes, and one of the things as a teacher that you have to realize is that no matter how hard you work, some students you just might not click with. So sometimes I feel like I put a lot of work into something and not get the results that I want, but that’s just part of any job, really, that involves other people.

What was the most rewarding moment in your teaching career?

 I think the most rewarding part of my job [is] the little moments every day that add up, I really find a lot of joy in the little moments of successes that all add up to why I do it.