About Me
I’m Jessica Hurff, and I’m the mother of two teenaged boys, John and Jackson, and a wife to Jimmy. I graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Psychology, and used that degree for many years in Human Resources and Youth Ministry. Now, I’m using my knowledge of learning styles and brain development to teach my sons.
Why Home Education?
I chose to make a change to home education when I realized that the public school system was not created to focus on individual learning styles, gifts, or interests. My sons were lumped into broad categories that determined what type of education and therefore what future choices they would have. That did not make sense to me, so I decided to create a challenging, mastery-based, and personalized educational program based on curriculum that my children would relate to.
Every child has natural strengths, and I provide a unique school experience that uses those gifts daily. My curriculum uses hands on activities and big, audacious projects to teach advanced mathematical skills, drafting, programming, and project management. A strong focus on the foundation of languages, vocabulary, and all genres of literature ensure a deep understanding of written word. Teaching history through the lens of scientific discovery and focusing on daily life and culture of different regions of the world gives my children an appreciation of people and places different than what they see. Learning about the formation of our own country and how it has been and continues to be influenced by our global community helps them to understand how important it is to be involved in your own community.
Student-Centered Initiatives
What is school all about, anyways? It is about teaching children how and why they learn, and ensuring that they have choices when it comes to their future. Creating personalized plans that can be modified and adjusted as needed is key to student success. Didn’t quite get that math concept? no problem, the AI math program we are using can detect that, and will take you back to the previous concept and work on iterative activities to get you to speed. Is the language used in that novel really hard to understand? Let’s focus on Latin and Greek word roots for a few weeks before you read it. Everything is tailored to making it possible to learn anything, because the right tools will be here for you.
Engaging Community Activities
Since our school is pretty tiny, and not filled with peers like traditional ones, it is very important to get engaged with peers and our community in other ways. Participation in various social groups and service organizations is really important to me. Participation with service organizations that focus on caring for our beautiful waterways and coasts, and caring for the individuals that live in them is vital to understanding the world around us.
2025-2026 FTC PEP Information
In accordance with house bill 1, Here2 School is an official FTC PEP (Personalized Education Plan) in the State of Florida. Below is a link to the 2025-2026 scholarship awarded to Here2 School provided through Step Up For Students.
