Jessica M. Straessle

Jessica M. Straessle is an educator and researcher specializing in teacher effectiveness, classroom instruction, and educational leadership. She received her master's degree in early childhood education from Georgia State University, where her work focused on effective teaching in urban school settings. She later earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership from the College of William & Mary, concentrating on curriculum and educational leadership, and has also completed doctoral work on teachers’ perspectives of effective lesson planning at William & Mary. During her doctoral studies, Straessle taught inclusion and gifted classes as a classroom teacher.

Straessle currently serves as a research associate with Stronge & Associates Educational Consulting, where her research interests include teacher effectiveness, teacher evaluation, and student individuality. She is a coauthor of Smart from the Start: 100 Tools for Teaching with Confidence (ASCD, 2023), written with James H. Stronge and Xianxuan Xu, a resource that provides practical tools to help new and veteran teachers strengthen their classroom practice. In addition, she has helped edit multiple books and coauthored several quick reference guides for teachers published by ASCD.