Microschool Builder & Educational Coach
Jade Ann Rivera
Jade is an author, coach and specialist in working with gifted, 2E and neurodivergent children. “My work with neurodivergent children is inspired by the experiences of the students and families with whom I work and by my own life experiences. I remember being very young and looking up at leafless branches against a cold autumn sky and wondering why they looked like the arteries I’d seen laced around the outside of the heart diagram we’d labeled in Biology class. I thought there must be a connection…
My passion for education lead me to design the Sunnyside Micro-School, which provides gifted and twice-exceptional children with a safe space to demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and values in a personal and meaningful manner. I also wrote a book, Micro-Schools: Creating Personalized Learning on a Budget, which is meant to inspire other passionate individuals to consider micro-schools as an avenue for gifted and twice-exceptional children.
In 2002 I graduated with a degree in Chemistry from The Evergreen State College. Shortly after, I was awarded the renowned Fulbright Scholarship for study in Thailand. After a brief, successful yet unfulfilling career as a chemist, I made a switch to alternative education.
It was then that I realized, I've always been fascinated by how people learn, communicate, and connect.
My passion for education lead me to design the Sunnyside Micro-School, which provides gifted and twice-exceptional children with a safe space to demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and values in a personal and meaningful manner. I also wrote a book, Micro-Schools: Creating Personalized Learning on a Budget, which is meant to inspire other passionate individuals to consider micro-schools as an avenue for gifted and twice-exceptional children.
My training in Nonviolent Communication and Montessori credential inspire my educational philosophies and practices. I am also a proud Gifted Homeschoolers Forum Ambassador and chemistry teacher for GHFO.
I consult through speaking and workshops to discuss the characteristics of neurodivergent children and how to develop strategies that best serve their education and social-emotional development. This includes designing micro-schools, highly specialized learning environments, for gifted and twice-exceptional learners.
More recently I was honored by the California Association for the Gifted for distinguished service on behalf of gifted and twice-exceptional children. My newest publication, Could You Live Underwater: A Design Thinking and STEM Curriculum is available now.”
