Biography

Frau Garrett grew up bilingual with a German mother and American father.  She has lived in Texas, Germany and Colorado.  After high school she attended the University of Northern Colorado, earning two Bachelor’s degrees, one in German and one in Psychology. Jess then pursued her Master’s at the University of Arizona, where she was a graduate teaching assistant and fell in love with teaching.  After graduating at the age of 22, Jess took her first high school teaching position in Tucson, Arizona, doubling the size of the program and starting an exchange program with a German high school in Bavaria.  Jess returned to Colorado to be closer to family and has been at SLHS since 2017. In her spare time she and her family enjoy hiking and playing board games together.  Jess is also a member of the American Association of Teachers of German, part of the Jeffco World Language Advisory, and the Academic Leadership Team member for World Language at Standley Lake.  She runs GAPP (German American Partnership Program) with the Staffelsee Gymnasium in Murnau, Bavaria (even years) and the Integrierte Gesamtschule Osnabrück.  Every year around 15 students have the opportunity to spend a month in Germany during the summer and host a German student for two weeks in the spring.