ORLANDO, Fla. — Giving back runs in the family when it comes to Orange County A+ Teacher Jessica Benscoter.

She explained to Spectrum News 13 where she gets her work ethic from and who inspires her every day.

Benscoter is the instructional coach at Stone Lakes Elementary School in Orlando.

"Our school is a beautiful mix of what our world is like,” she says. ​"And our one thing is to meet the needs of our students that have autism." 

To say she wears a lot of different hats in this role is an understatement. 

She explains, "I go in and I work with students that are showing a need — they need either gifted support on down — to our students who might be struggling academically." 

From providing support to students and her fellow teachers, she's the testing coordinator, ESOL compliance, and STEM coach too. 

Benscoter was drawn to teaching early on and adds, "In high school, I was invited to a Future Educators of America meeting from one of my teachers and, we started tutoring children at our local elementary school, and I fell in love with it. I realized the impact I could make one child at a time."

Her work ethic is a compliment to her parents.

Her mother volunteered for the Jaycee's and her father was a volunteer firefighter who continues to serve to this day.

"We have been a family that has always done what we can to give back to the community. My dad is currently the crossing guard at Stone Lakes with me," she says.

Twenty-three years in the education field and she has no regrets. She says, "As an educator. I'm a facilitator, the students do the work, and I want them to know that there's no task too difficult that they can accomplish."

Benscoter is especially moved when her former students come back to visit. She says, "Especially with the STEM kids that are now doing engineering majors and they're exploring careers that they might not have explored. That's it for me — that's what keeps me coming back."