OCALA, Fla. — A+ Teacher Jennifer Brown is a math teacher at Forest High School in Ocala. She motivates her students to always do their best by encouraging them, that they really can achieve more than they ever thought possible.

Brown’s students were focused on their schoolwork when Spectrum News 13 stopped by their Forest High School classroom.

Brown makes sure her class is a safe and happy place so that students can be ready to do their best work.

“I want my kids to feel at home and for me as well. We’re in our classrooms more than we’re in our house during the day, so I just want it to be a comfortable environment where they feel like they’re cared about and loved just like they are at home,” she said.

She says she was inspired to choose a career in education.

“A lot of teachers have inspired me over the years. I come from a family of teachers. My sister was a teacher. Just seeing the impact that teachers have had on my life has really inspired me to become that for my students,” Brown said.

Brown also says working at Forest High was a calculated move to keep her family first.

“I’m a product of Marion County Public Schools. I grew up here. When I started at Forest, my kids were here. I’ve got two daughters who graduated from Forest and my son is currently a senior,” she said.

During the school day, though, her students are her number one focus.

“I want to just create a community of learners that they’re not scared to speak their mind and have a different opinion, especially in math. There’s a lot of different ways to arrive at a right answer,” Brown said.

She wants them to work together and be problem solvers.

Brown says struggling and even making mistakes is just part of the learning process.

“Seeing the impact that teachers have had on my life has really inspired me to become that for my students. They need to know how to persevere and learn how to do hard things, and that’s what I want to leave them with,” she remarked.