FLIPPABLE: Jessica Harrington for FL-HD64 (Sliding D fast!!)
Jessica Harrington is a fierce advocate for working families, education, and conservation. She understands that you deserve a representative who will listen to you and will fight to make your ideas heard.
These past few months have been tough, but for many people, life has been hard for years. As a 7th Grade Civics teacher at Sergeant Paul R. Smith Middle School, she has seen firsthand the struggles of families facing health challenges and economic uncertainty. Jessica believes that a quality education can help families out of poverty. Every day, Jessica works to educate the next generation of leaders, steering the conversation into difficult topics and letting students express themselves and their ideas. Most importantly, she gives them a foundation to understand how we got where we are, gives them a voice to talk about how the policies impact their own lives, and encourages them to come up with creative solutions that would make life better for them, their families, and their community.
Now, she is ready to take that conversation to the next level. For far too long, Tallahassee has been run by a network of self-serving politicians, funded by corporate donors and lobbyists. These politicians abuse their power and are not held accountable.
The people in House District 64 deserve better. You deserve to have an advocate who will work full-time for you, not special interests. You deserve to have a champion who will give you a voice in your government.
Jessica is the daughter of a bricklayer who instilled in her the value of hard work at an early age. Her family struggled financially most of her life, and at the age of 14, she got her first weekend job to help pay the bills. During that time, she saw the public education system fail her brother, who dropped out of high school, a decision that still haunts him and his job prospects today. Many of her friends could not afford to go to college. Jessica’s own parents took out a second mortgage to help her get her degree, right before the economy crashed and her father lost his job in construction. Her family later had to declare bankruptcy.
But like many families, they rallied around each other. Education was always a top priority, and a way for Jessica to have a better life than her parents. As a young girl, Jessica’s dad would take her to Haslam’s Book Store, which started her lifelong love of reading and school. She also had a love for the environment. One way they saved money, was doing outdoor activities as a family. Growing up just five minutes from beautiful Gulfport Beach, Jessica embraced the serenity that could be found in nature and understood the importance of protecting it so other families could enjoy it, too. As a little girl, some of Jessica’s fondest memories were camping on the Suwannee River and swimming in the springs. Jessica will conserve and protect Florida’s natural resources so that future generations can enjoy the same simple pleasures.
essica attended Boca Ciega High School, where she graduated at the top of her class. She was the Vice President of the Senior Class and of the Drama Club and is a strong supporter of the arts in education. The drama club would put on plays for the local elementary school, and that’s when Jessica knew she wanted to work with children one day.
Jessica has a long history of service. During her college years at the University of Florida in Gainesville, she volunteered at Peaceful Paths, a center that serves survivors of domestic violence. She also volunteered with the non-profit group Children Beyond Our Borders, traveling to Cali, Colombia to help teach orphans. It was eye-opening to see children living in cardboard boxes and inspired her to want to work with disadvantaged children. She learned how compassion for others can make a difference in people’s lives.
Jessica earned her bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Florida while waitressing nights and weekends to make ends meet. She knew she wanted to work in a profession that served others. After college, she had a decision to make: did she want to go to law school or become a teacher? Knowing her family could not afford to help with law school, she chose to become a teacher. She attended night school at Santa Fe College where she earned three teaching certifications: Elementary and Secondary Social Studies and Special Education.
While attending night school, Jessica worked as a paraprofessional at a small, non-profit charter school in Gainesville for students with learning disabilities. After earning her certification in teaching, she taught elementary and middle school for several years.
In 2013, Jessica and her husband moved back to the Tampa Bay area. She continued her career as a teacher at Middleton High School, a school that was originally founded for African American students in 1934. Jessica’s ability to inspire people to come together and solve problems was quickly noticed, and she became the Special Education Department Head. A few years after working at Middleton, she accepted a position at Smith Middle School to be closer to home. She quickly became a team leader and in 2019 won Teacher of the Year!
One of Jessica’s strengths is to see people where they are today, and where they could be with a little help. Many of her students have had a revolving door of teachers and it was difficult for them to trust any adult outside of their family. Jessica proved through her actions that she was there for them, not just to help them excel in school but to also excel in life. She has helped her students apply for jobs, apply for college, and equipped them with life skills that will help them navigate the future.
Jessica leads by example. Jessica began working on ocean conservancy projects around the community when she moved back to the Tampa Bay Area. This included beach cleanups, presentations, working with city-councils, and even hosting an environmental movie night in which the former mayor of Miami Beach dropped by to talk to the audience about the climate crisis. She was later hired by the nonprofit Environment Florida through Fund for the Public Interest to work on environmental protection initiatives. She worked with them until she decided to run for office! She is a founding member of the Hillsborough County Democratic Environmental Caucus.
Her experience volunteering with Peaceful Paths and Children Beyond Our Borders focused her attention on helping children and families in need. She volunteers at local food banks and has organized food drives for the homeless during the holidays.
When COVID-19 closed the schools, Jessica helped hand out food to students and their families. She also volunteered with Meals on Wheels and volunteered multiple times at a food pantry, where she saw lines that were five hours long. That is not right. Your government should do better.
Jessica inspires people to come together to solve problems and will work across the aisle to pass legislation that will improve the lives of Florida’s working families by fixing our broken unemployment system, reducing health care costs, and investing in our children’s education.
She will work for you. She will be your advocate for the changes that are so desperately needed. She will be your voice in Tallahassee and here at home.
Join Jessica today and help build a better tomorrow.
https://www.jessicaharrington.org