Jacqelle B. Lane

• Connect with Jacqelle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqellelane/ 
• Learn more about Jacqelle’s work: https://jacqellelane.com/ 
• Purchase Jacqelle’s book, “Every Child Matters”: https://jacqellelane.com/order-books/ 
• Listen to the “Education With An Edge” podcast: https://jacqellelane.com/podcasts/ 

Jacqelle Lane: 

Regardless of your age, really make sure that you’re standing up for what you believe in and that you’re living your life aligned with your values.

Announcer:

Welcome to Agency for Change, a podcast from KidGlov that brings you the stories of changemakers who are actively working to improve our communities. In every episode, we’ll meet with people who are making a lasting impact in the places we call home.

Lisa Bowen:

You probably have at least one teacher you remember very fondly. And they stand out in your mind because they went above and beyond every single day. They made you feel special and unique. Well, many have described today’s guest as exactly that teacher. So stay tuned as we discuss her career in education, her recently published book titled “Every Child Matters” and the importance of DE & I in the classroom. Hi everyone, this is Lisa Bowen, vice president, managing director at KidGlov. Welcome to another episode of the Agency for Change podcast. Today’s guest is Jacqelle Lane, an author, educator, advocate, and speaker. Jacqelle, I’m eager to talk with you today and learn more about the great impact you’re making on the world.

Jacqelle Lane:

Thank you so much, Lisa, for having me here. I am a huge fan of yours. And not only of yours personally, but of the work that you do at KidGlov, so I’m really excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

Lisa Bowen:

Wonderful. So Jacqelle, those titles that we mentioned, author, educator, advocate, speaker, those are some big titles that you hold there. So for listeners, I’ve had the privilege of talking with you and I’m so inspired by everything that you do and I felt like we had an instant connection. But for those that haven’t had the privilege of meeting you personally, can you just tell us a little bit about yourself and the work that you’re passionate about?

Jacqelle Lane:

Absolutely. And I mean it’s always funny when you hear those things about yourself. And it is a little grandiose. It’s like, wow, I guess one thing it does is just kind of makes me humble, because it seems like a lot. But I’ve always been a very creative person. I’ve been a lifelong learner. I try to encourage that love of learning in my students when I was a teacher. And I’m also someone that’s very passionate, and I say this with love, about equaling the playing field and social justice. We’ll get into a little bit about my background and how I started off in education and then how the twist and turns of life and my journey changed.

And I think that’s the biggest thing, that if I can pay it forward, and I say this with a lot of humility, I want to be the adult that I needed when I was a young person. And so whether that’s through mentorship, whether that’s through my DEIA work that I’m doing now, or whether that was the 20 plus years that I spent in education. That’s really who I am and that’s what I’m passionate about is encouraging and inspiring young people to succeed, to reach their highest potential, and to truly be the best version of themselves that they can be. Not some societal standard, but the best version of themselves that they can be.

Lisa Bowen:

That’s such admirable work. So beyond all of the other great things you’re doing, you do have a day job that we want to talk a little bit about. Which is director of diversity, equity and inclusion, and accessibility at the Omaha Children’s Museum. Can you tell us a little bit about that role and what it entails?

Jacqelle Lane:

Absolutely. And this was such an amazing opportunity for me. And to be completely transparent, Lisa, we saw these DEIA positions crop up after the pandemic, after several social justice issues arose in our world, right? And so we hadn’t really seen this title very much before. And now it’s being more implemented. And I have to be honest, as I look back on my career, and I’ve talked to my friends in this community about this, a lot of us were already doing this work. There just wasn’t a title placed to it.

But my position at the Omaha Children’s Museum is basically to make sure that we have a safe and inviting space for every child and every family that walks through our doors, whatever that looks like. You take the A in DEIA, the accessibility piece. And when I was growing up, I just have to be very honest, I guess I didn’t see it through this lens. That if there’s a child or a parent that’s walking through the museum that’s blind, what are we doing to accommodate that individual? If we have a child that is autistic, what are we doing to accommodate that family and that child so that they can have the best possible experience?

And so it truly is looking at things through a different lens and making sure, as I said in my intro, not just that we can equal the playing field more. But so that we can provide a valuable educational experience that’s fun and inviting for everyone that walks through our doors. And yes, diversity is a huge part of that, because the more that we can learn from other cultures and other communities, the better that we will be as a whole.

And I will go into all of that, basically how I started off in both middle and secondary education, so high school education. But now I have the opportunity to work with early childhood. So zero to eight years old. And it’s really beautiful to see these young children and how they’re just so accepting of each other, and they’re so loving, and they just get it. And if someone has an accommodation, they get excited about it. And I think the earlier that we can start fostering acceptance, love, and opportunity for young people, the better and kinder, and safer our world will be, truly.

Lisa Bowen:

The Children’s Museum is such a great asset to the community. I love that you’re trying to make it accessible to all. It’s so great. So another job or task I want to talk a little bit about, is you helped design and implement DE&I policies for the Nebraska State Education Association, that’s a huge accomplishment. Can you tell us a little bit about what that work looked like for you?

Jacqelle Lane:

Yes, absolutely. I have always been a learner and a teacher at heart. And I know that your wonderful husband is a teacher, so we’ll give him a shout out for all the work that he’s done too and the lives that he’s changed. It was a huge opportunity to be presented with the role of Practice and Policy Fellows for the Nebraska State Education Association. So I had the opportunity to work with the National Education Association in Washington DC, which was a dream come true for me. And the tasks that I was assigned were predominantly geared towards recruitment and retainment of teachers of color. Because we know, especially in correlation with the school to prison pipeline, that representation matters. Representation when young people walk into a classroom, they need to see teachers and administrators that look like them. Not only to connect with but also from a cultural proficiency standpoint.

And so obviously after COVID, and we’re still coming out of this and we’re seeing how our world is coming out of this in 2022, those were some hard years for the educational profession. My team and myself were really tasked with a lot of mentoring opportunities, pairing young teachers. We know that teachers leave typically, if they’re going to leave the educational profession, within the first three to five years. So really pairing those young teachers up with more seasoned instructors so that they could really gain the experience and also the support that they need. And the Nebraska State Education Association did a great job of that.

And it was also a wonderful way for teachers who had retired, but still had their gifts and talents to give, to be able to work with those young teachers and really make a difference so that they stayed in the profession. Because it is a helping profession, as your husband knows, it’s a giving profession. I used to say we talk about frontline. During the pandemic, teachers were frontline. They were right there with the kiddos and the families that were suffering. And so it was such an amazing opportunity. I also had the opportunity to testify on approximately 14 bills that were directly correlated in support of public education in the state of Nebraska. And that was very fascinating to see how the legislative process worked.

I gained some really valuable relationships and friendships through that process. And really came away with a better understanding of what we could do as a community, what we could do with our voice, with our vote to support all children in the state of Nebraska. I’m a huge advocate of public education. The fact of the matter is that we are a leading nation because we literally, you can start from nothing and get anywhere from where you are. You can truly become anything that you can be. And it was very impactful and very empowering for me to be able to fight for those children every day who were first generation graduates, who were working diligently to attain their goals, not just for themselves but for their families. It was a wonderful experience for sure.

Lisa Bowen:

That’s amazing. My husband reminds me daily how challenging it is in the classroom today. So I really appreciate all you’re doing to advocate for students and teachers. So where do you think education today falls short in terms of creating that equity and inclusion in the classroom? And where have you seen some successes through your work?

Jacqelle Lane:

Absolutely, yeah. And I think I’m going to be really careful to focus on the positive. I think there’s a lot of, and we talked about this a lot, and we talk about this currently in my role at the Omaha Children’s Museum. But we talked about it a lot as my role of practice in SCA as Practice and Policy Fellow. I think you have a couple options. I think you can really fixate on the negative and fixate on the gaps that are there. Because we know that there are academic gaps in learning, especially in Title I schools and in certain demographics in certain populations. We know that scores in terms of assessments have the opportunity to fall short.

I think it all goes back to though, that there are some amazing people out there doing the work, not just in non-profit but in education as well. That are working to close that gap, working to be there as a support to the whole child, working to encourage the child to show up authentically. And I’ll just give just even an example now. Omaha Children’s Museum has a program and it’s called Our Partner School Program. And we serve 30 Title I entities and both Nebraska and Iowa. And it entitles these schools to a free field trip, a free outreach, and a family night. And it is an absolutely beautiful experience to see not just the learning, but the play that goes on between families and their children.

And then also their teachers, which when I was growing up, that was important. And I think we’ve kind of gotten away from that in our busy, hectic lives. But showing up together as a community and fostering those spaces where everyone can feel welcome, and everyone can show up just authentically as a human, and not in their role, is very important. There are some amazing things going on in education as well. I talk to teachers all the time. Obviously, there are challenging situations. Never before, in my opinion, have teachers, and your husband could speak to this, really… You wear so many hats as a teacher, right? You can one day be the school counselor, you can one day be a social worker, you’re a support to the family and to the student.

So I really do think that there’s some great things that are happening and that are going on to support teachers, because it is a very tough job. And where my heart is and has always been is with these very young teachers that are going into the profession. Preparing them to the best of our ability is truly our responsibility. Getting them in, getting a great student teaching experience for them. Acknowledging some of the challenges that they’re going to come up against, and being realistic about it, are some ways that I feel that we can really catapult the profession. And also in my opinion, and this is another issue, but really and truly taking a hard look and paying teachers for the time for what they’re worth. I have to be very honest, is going to go a long way to recruiting and retaining the talent that we need to be taking care of our most valuable resource, which is our children.

Lisa Bowen:

Absolutely. So we know that you were a teacher for a number of years. But in your book I noticed you said teaching was not your first career choice.

Jacqelle Lane:

It was not.

Lisa Bowen:

But it was the best decision you’ve ever made. So can you talk a little bit about that path and how you got to teaching?

Jacqelle Lane:

Yes. And I think this has to go back, Lisa. I’ve been to so many conferences and some really great speaking engagements recently where it comes up with that we really need to get back to the core of who you are and you dissect your values. And I think that when I was younger, teaching is not seen, at least when I was growing up. I always respected teachers and I thought it was an extraordinarily admirable profession. I grew up with teachers on my mother’s side, there are several teachers who went on to obtain high degrees of education.

But at the time when I was going through college, I just did not feel like that was for me. And so the trajectory of my life, I really wanted to go into marketing and advertising, and that was the creative aspect of where I was headed. I graduated actually with a marketing and a communications degree and had started working at a publications company right out of college in Lincoln, Nebraska. And it was through a mentorship program that it really did change my life. And it wasn’t that I wasn’t enjoying my work, it wasn’t that I wasn’t making great money, because I was.

It was truly that through this mentorship program, I met a young lady and something clicked in me at the early age of, I would’ve been 21 at the time, that I could make a substantial difference in someone’s life by being that person for them. And the young lady that I was matched with in the mentorship program had quite substantial, she had a lot of mental health issues. She had experienced sexual and emotional abuse in her life. Had been kind of in and out of foster care because her parents were unable to handle her. And this isn’t speaking to my ability at all, but just by being able to be there for her and spend that time with her, there were really significant positive changes that occurred.

And to me, it just made sense, and I always said that profession, I didn’t choose teaching, it chose me. Because I said, if I can even help one child a little bit, then that’ll be worth it to me. And so really getting back to the core of how I wanted to assist others, and probably learning that I, myself was a giver at heart, was the reason that I went back to school and got my degree in education. And then got a master’s degree and then got another master’s degree. And that’s a whole other story. But yeah, it’s a profession that I absolutely love. And I tell the young teachers that I mentor or anyone that’s going into education, it is the most profoundly important profession that we have. And I never want them to doubt that they make a difference every single day in the lives of the kids that they work with.

Lisa Bowen:

So amazing. And I think the path you took was the perfect path for you because I do believe that your marketing communications background really helped you as well.

Jacqelle Lane:

Later in life. Yes.

Lisa Bowen:

Yeah. So I think that’s wonderful. So you talk about the importance of teachers. Was there a teacher in your life that was special to you and inspired you?

Jacqelle Lane:

Yes. I mean absolutely. There were several. So it’s hard to narrow it down to one. And like I said, my mother was a music teacher, my aunt was an English teacher. I have another aunt that’s in early childhood. I had a great aunt that was music instructor and then she went on to be a school counselor. And so of course all of them I love and respect so much, right? But I did, I had phenomenal, I’ve always been really inclined to the arts and music, I always have. And I had wonderful music teachers growing up. I’m from a very small town of approximately 5,000. I had a great band instructor in middle school, Mr. Dobson, who was just a really great guy and went above and beyond for us kids all the time. I had another great band instructor in high school that really advocated for me. I had a wonderful drama teacher.

The time I think is what always… I probably didn’t realize until I got into education myself that these people are really sacrificing time away from their families. And I know I’m preaching to the choir with you because of your husband, right? Really giving themselves, giving to other people’s children on nights and weekends. And of course, I was kind of geared more to the arts. So you practice and your performances, and your competitions, are always on the weekends. And you’re practicing at night and things like that. But I look back at the times that these teachers gave so selflessly of themselves.

I had a wonderful, wonderful sixth grade English teacher, Mrs. Tifford, that taught us all to think out of the box. And you talk about DEI work, I mean it was just so ingrained in her. And we were from a small town, so there wasn’t a lot of diversity. But really taught us to care about one another and to be interested in different cultures and want to see the world. And so all of those individuals played a significant role in my life. And also in going forward of how I wanted kids to remember me. How I wanted to be someday a teacher that kids could look back on and say, Wow, that was a really difficult time in my life, but Ms. Lane helped me through that. Cause that’s how I thought about them. We all go through challenges in their life.

I lost my father when I was 14. That was a really formidable year for me that I really felt like there were some teachers that stepped up and supported me and my family at that time. And for them, I will always be grateful. And when I said at the beginning of this podcast that I wanted to be the kind of adult that I needed as a child, that really resonates true. And probably is the reason that I chose the path that I did and that I worked with the types of students that I did. Which were mostly at-risk adolescents, to be honest. Those were the kids that gravitated towards me and that I gravitated towards them as well. Just that had some challenges in their life. And we all need a support system. We all need someone to lift us up now and again on this journey that we’re on. And so the more that we can lean on one another, the less of a burden it will be. Right?

Lisa Bowen:

Absolutely. So your passion for education led you to start your own podcast. So let’s talk a little bit about “Education With An Edge.”

Jacqelle Lane:

Yes. And I would love for you to come and be on it, I know we’ve got it on the schedules and I would be so honored. I started “Education With An Edge” for a couple of reasons. First of all, I noticed that all of my students and a lot of the adults that I was engaging with, the podcasts were kind of becoming a big thing. But I also acknowledged and recognized that at no point before in history had mental health been such an issue, right? And I was seeing it show up in the classroom. And then when I started working for the Nebraska State Education Association, that was on the tip of everyone’s tongue. What are we doing for students mental health? What are we doing to teach them coping skills and teach them ways of dealing with the challenges of life? Because I think never before have kids had so much on their plate and so much to deal with. And had to take on maybe so much adult responsibility at such a young age.

And we can go into all of those factors, be it social media and the cyber bullying that takes place. But also just other factors within our world that children are privy to, right? That they see every single day. I started the podcast as a positive outlet, but as also an authentic outlet to invite, and I will say successful individuals, onto the program to talk about their journey, to talk about obstacles that they’d overcome. Because what I often saw when dealing with young people was that they would look at someone like you, for instance, Lisa, and they would say, Well, she can’t understand where I’m coming from, she’s never been through anything. But that’s how kids think. And we both know that’s not accurate. We both know that there’s hurdles, and there’s obstacles, and that there’s things that we all have to get through. And there have been challenges along the way.

But I really wanted to open up a safe space where people could talk and share their story to help young people. To help young people realize that you will get through this. You might have to put one foot in front of the other, you might have to lean on great mentors. If you don’t have a supportive family network at home, you might have to seek it out. That’s what certain people that have come on the program have said. So really great advice for just getting to your goals. And also being persistent and having that grit and determination to do what you have to in order to succeed and to get to where you want to go.

And I think sometimes, and especially on social media for young people, it’s the highlight reel. And it looks like everyone has the perfect family, everyone has whatever. And I think it’s really important that we are transparent as adults and that we show children that there are things in this life that are difficult. But there’s also a brighter and better future tomorrow, the next day. And that’s kind of where it got into the suicide prevention aspect of the podcast, which we have a great partnership with the Nebraska Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Because if you can reach out, if you can make it one more day. Because we do know that there’s very challenging circumstances that a lot of young people are going through. But the whole premise of the podcast is to be a light, it’s to kind of be a beacon of hope, and to know that there’s always a brighter tomorrow than what you’re going through today.

Lisa Bowen:

You’ve convinced me. Sign me up. I’ll do it. I would love to. So you’ve written two books, which are amazing, I have them right here in front of me. “From Bully to Bestie,” and your most recent one, “Every Child Matters.” Talk to me about your new book. What do you want people to take away from reading it?

Jacqelle Lane:

Absolutely. So yeah, I mentioned about going back to school and being a lifelong learner. So my first master’s degree was in education and administration. And my second master’s degree was in English as a second language, which I loved working with my ESL kids. And I could get into all my experience and my time with them and how impactful that was for me. Just learning about different cultures, learning about family dynamics, also very important. But I did decide to go back and get a master’s degree in school counseling. Because I did see, especially with the kids that I was working with and at the school at the time, there was an immense need for social and emotional supports. And we are still in dire need of school counselors and individuals who are passionate about that aspect of the profession.

But I wrote from “Bully to Bestie” because there was, at the time when I was in the classroom, a lot of labeling going on in terms of bullying, and what that was, and how we treated that. And it’s not to say that any of it was wrong, it’s just to say that it was kind of this buzzword. But what I really got concerned about in working with my at-risk, adolescents was that we were labeling children too soon. And we also were maybe bypassing some of the imperative learning opportunities to teach social skills and coping skills.

Kids are so ingrained and so fixated on their devices, and on their phones, and things like that. That sometimes I feel like we’ve missed out a little bit on the social interaction aspect of things and teaching social skills in today’s day and age. And I think you and I talked about that. We were talking about when we were in college and you weren’t on your headphones all the time, and maybe you actually had to greet someone and smile when you walked past them, instead of just being on your AirPods and looking down at your phone. Not to criticize and say that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just that I do think that there’s been a loss of opportunity in some capacities for creating social skills.

And so from “Bully to Bestie” was really written for the child. It was written for counselors, and for parents, and for teachers, to have a tool. And it’s illustrated and it is for elementary through middle school age. It’s definitely not geared towards high school. So it’s for a younger demographic to be able to talk about their feelings. If a teacher were to see bullying behavior being exhibited, maybe instead of vilifying the individual that’s exhibiting that behavior. Maybe pulling them aside and saying, I want to talk to you about some of this. I want to talk to you about why we’re choosing to express ourselves this way. And then here are some skills, be it through exercise, be it through meditation, that you can use when you’re feeling this way. And then maybe that might open up the conversation to some bigger issues that are happening in their lives.

Because I do feel that, that’s one thing. Our world moves so fast that we need to take time and have these important conversations with these kiddos. And so it’s really a guidebook for young kids to not only believe in themselves, it’s got some great positive affirmations and things like that. But it also has some coping skills as well. And at least when I was in school, we weren’t really taught, What do you do when you’re anxious? What can you do if you’re feeling sad? Besides cry or act out or whatever. So hopefully had some beneficial tidbits in there.

And then my second book, “Every Child Matters,” it talks a lot about my journey. I worked at an alternative level three school, and I worked at a group home. And I saw a lot of things, a lot of children that were in the foster care system, a lot of children that were in the juvenile justice system. And really my hope for the book was for it to be an encouraging message that we really truly can’t discount any child regardless of the background that they come from. Because kids don’t get to choose that, right? We don’t get to choose who our parents are, we don’t get to choose where we’re born, we don’t get to choose how we come into this world.

But what we can do, and I do feel like it’s our responsibility as adults, is to care about how we show up for those children. And I’ve seen it make a huge difference in their lives. And I talk in the book about two brothers that I taught that were involved in gang violence. And one of the brothers is a contributing member to society, sends me a Christmas card every year, has a beautiful family, went to Joseph’s College of Beauty and is a barber. And the other unfortunately is in the Nebraska State Penitentiary.

And so I think the thing that keeps me up every night, or the thing that I have learned from some of the experiences, as sad as they were, is what was the change, or how could we have stopped or prevented certain children from making certain choices? While we know both of those individuals came from the same environment, what would’ve been some supports that we could have implemented for those individuals that we lost? Because really, when we lose a child to the justice system, when we lose a child to violence, it affects the entire community, and it affects our world for the negative. I believe that every single person here has gifts and talents to share. And the more that we show up as a community for these children, the better we will be and the better our world will be.

Lisa Bowen:

Absolutely. So you mentioned coping skills, and I agree with you 100% a struggle as a parent is you can’t often get rid of the obstacles. But what you can control, or at least help control, is how your kids deal with those. What advice do you have for parents to help them raise more resilient kids?

Jacqelle Lane:

Absolutely. And you know what, I get this question a lot. And first of all, I respect parents. I’ll just preface this, I feel like there’s not a person on the planet that respects parents more. So first of all, just being a parent in today’s society is so courageous, and I commend them for showing up for their kids every single day and honestly putting their needs first. I think there are several things that we can do. I think really being grounded and teaching children to have a healthy love and a healthy self-acceptance and self-appreciation is key.

I think especially when I was growing up and now what we see just through the media and in society is it’s a lot of opulence. It’s a lot of, if you don’t have this, then you’re discounted. If you don’t come from this family, you’re discounted. So I think probably the biggest thing is really teaching your children to have a healthy self-love and self-acceptance. And I don’t mean teach them to be an egoist and that they’re better than anyone else, but I do think it’s very important to foster a positive self-love and positive self-esteem. Because I do see so many young people that struggle with that. Because they’re told millions of different ways every day that they don’t measure up.

So that was one of the biggest things, even with my student teaching, the fact that a four-year university might not be for you, and that’s okay. You’re a phenomenal… You love to work with your hands, or you’re wonderful with kinesiology. It’s okay to not always try to fit in the box. So I would also say foster in them a love of creativity. And kind of get to know what they enjoy and what they’re good at before you try to place a lot of expectations on them and things like that. And then in terms of coping skills and social skills, I’m a huge believer in affirmations. I’m a huge believer in meditation, especially for the amount of anxiety that we see in young people today. There’s several great apps out there, Calm being one of them, that fosters this even in little littles. And even in pre-K through fifth grade kids. Where starting off the morning, a calming ritual probably doesn’t hurt, just before they rush into their day.

And then just let your kids know that you love them. And I know that’s probably a cliche thing to say. But the one thing that I learned throughout my profession in education and now working in early childhood at the Omaha Children’s Museum is that kids just need to know that they’re loved, that you’re there for them. Whether that’s from a teacher, whether that’s from a parent, they just need to know that they’re valued and that they’re special. And I know that’s an easy thing to say, but it goes a long way. I mean, I can’t tell you how many kids that I still have from this day that are now grownups and have families of their own. That are like, I just felt like you cared, really cared about me, and I didn’t have anybody in my life at that time that did. And so that is my biggest advice in terms of grounding, creating a positive sense of self and self-esteem. And then also just letting them know that they’re so loved and so deserving.

Lisa Bowen:

Such great advice. I really wish I would’ve been exposed to your books when my kids were younger. But they turned out pretty good.

Jacqelle Lane:

They’re amazing. They’re great.

Lisa Bowen:

So we talked about your two books. Any plans for a third?

Jacqelle Lane:

I know. Actually before I came on here, I’m like, Oh my goodness. I would like to write a third. And I kind of have an idea in the works. We’ll leave it at this, that when and if that happens, I will make sure to come back. But I do have a plan for a third. And I have an idea of what that’s going to be and what that’s going to look like. So I’ll definitely keep you up to date.

Lisa Bowen:

I can’t wait to hear. So I’m inspired by motivational quotes and you are such an inspiring person. Can you give us a few words of your own wisdom that we can share with our listeners today?

Jacqelle Lane:

I don’t know if it’s quote worthy. But really going through a season in my life where authenticity matters, your voice matters. And I used to tell my students this, regardless of your age, really make sure that you’re standing up for what you believe in and that you’re living your life aligned with your values. And I think we’re living in a world where that’s becoming even more important to foster authenticity, to have courageous conversations, and then to stand up and be able to speak out and find your voice when you need to. That is what I’m living for and that’s what I’m trying to do in my own life as well.

Lisa Bowen:

Very quote worthy, I think. So for our listeners who are as intrigued by your work as I am and want to learn more about all the great things you’re doing, how can they connect with you?

Jacqelle Lane:

Absolutely. So as we are, I know, and just as I say about social media. But I am on social media. My website actually is what I will direct people to, and that is www.jacqellelane.com. So, that’s W-W-W dot J-A-C-Q-E-L-L-E-L-A-N-E dot com. And then I’m also on Instagram as Jacqelle Lane. And then I also am on Instagram as From Bully to Bestie, where folks can keep up with me as well. And then of course on Facebook as Jacqelle Lane too. I’m pretty sure I’m the only one. In all my years of teaching, I’ve never met another Jacqelle. I do go by Jackie. But yeah, that’s still my social media handle. So pretty easy to find.

Lisa Bowen:

Awesome. So we’ve talked about so many great things today. But as we wrap up, what’s the one thing you want people to remember about the great work you’re doing?

Jacqelle Lane:

Yeah, I wake up every day and I want to encourage young people to know that there’s hope. There’s hope for a better future, regardless of where they originated, regardless of where they started. That they were born with a purpose and for a reason, and the world is a better place with them in it. And that is truly what I want my work to stand for. That if I could save one that, that would truly be worth it to me. I feel so strongly that kids have so much coming against them sometimes, that if one snippet of knowledge from “Education With An Edge” podcast helps them, if one line in my books help them or help the parent. Just to let kids know that they’re valued, and that they’re treasured, and that the world is a better place with them in it. And that nothing is insurmountable, that there have been people that are there before and that they can succeed, and that they can achieve their dreams too.

Lisa Bowen:

So amazing. Well, Jackie, it was such a pleasure meeting you. I’m so glad that our paths crossed. And I’ve really enjoyed learning about all the great work you’re doing. And I want to thank you personally for advocating for the students and those teachers out there that are helping our youth. And just keep up the great work and let’s keep in touch and contact me when that next book is ready.

Jacqelle Lane:

I will. Thank you so much. You’ll definitely hold me accountable for sure. And I’m so grateful and I can’t wait to have you on “Education With An Edge.” I’m such a huge fan of yours, so thank you for having me.

Lisa Bowen:

Absolutely.

Announcer:

We hope you enjoyed today’s Agency for Change podcast. To hear all our interviews with those who are making a positive change in our communities, or to nominate a changemaker you’d love to hear from, visit KidGlov.com at K-I-D-G-L-O-V.com to get in touch. As always, if you like what you’ve heard today, be sure to rate, review, subscribe, and share. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time.