My background & mission

As a lifelong educator, I not only want to help parents understand who their child is as a learner, but help facilitate, advise, and support them in navigating their child’s education. I have taught in both in general and special education classrooms and have been a diagnostician for over twenty years in public and private schools.

I moved to Dallas after graduating from Texas A&M to teach at Back Elementary in Garland. While there I worked with the campus diagnostician and was intrigued by the aspects of her job. I enrolled in East Texas State, which became part of the A&M system while I was there, to obtain my certification. From teaching, I went to Irving ISD as a diagnostician, and quickly transitioned to lead diagnostician, which provided the opportunity to mentor new diagnosticians. Once a teacher, always a teacher.

In 2008, I had the opportunity to become Director of Testing and Diagnostics at The Winston School in Dallas. Being at Winston brought a whole new perspective to my understanding of learning differences. I will never forget testing my first student on campus; I was absolutely blown away by his intelligence. Through my years there I got to know very bright students who had lost their confidence and passion for learning as a result of prior classroom experiences where their unique needs were not met. I also got the joy and pleasure of watching them transform into their true selves and soar.

JumpStart affords me the opportunity to provide parents and students with some clarity and answers, as well as insight from others in their situation.

One aspect of my job I particularly enjoyed at The Winston School was working with the college counselor to secure accommodations for entrance exams and college support services. I regularly met with students and families to talk frankly about their learning differences and what accommodations they needed, as well as what their part was in the equation in order to self-advocate and be successful in college.

Throughout my time at Winston I served on the admissions committee. In my last year I took on the additional role of Director of Admissions, while maintaining my position in the Testing and Evaluation Center. I met with many parents who needed advice for their child regarding school placement and services. What was the right answer for their child? I quickly learned that connecting parents to a network of other parents and students was my best ally in helping them navigate these types of decisions. JumpStart affords me an even greater opportunity to provide parents help and insight from others in their situation.

On a personal note, I am happily married with two dogs. I grew up on the Gulf Coast on Galveston Island and graduated from Texas A&M in College Station, where I made life-long friends. I am still involved in teaching, working with students in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). I like to stay active with regular visits to the gym; I believe in a healthy mind, body, and spirit connection. Always keep growing and moving forward! – Jennifer Premo

Call or text 214-532-6726
Jennifer@JumpstartStudentSuccess.com