SHS Staff Spotlight: Jennifer Leuneberg preps students to troop into the world

by Amy Haggerty

Stockbridge High School teacher Jennifer Leuneberg often looks beyond the walls of her classroom to bring lessons to life for her students.

Now in her 13th year at the school, Leuneberg teaches the required Government and Economics class for sophomores and the electives of Psychology, Law and Speech and Debate for all high school students. In her classes, her goal is to bring out the best in her students, yet challenging them while making learning fun.

To do this, she reaches out to people in the community. Guest speakers such as judges, prosecutors and probation officers have become an integral part of her classroom. Leuneberg also brought in Teen Court, in which former students from the area had their trials in front of Stockbridge students. This year, representatives from Families Against Narcotics came to school to speak with students about the dangers of opioid use.

Under Leuneberg’s guidance, learning also takes place outside the classroom. Field trips to the Ingham County Jail and Courthouse reinforce lessons about government and law. A visit to the Gerald Ford Museum on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor provides firsthand information about history and government.

“What I love about teaching in Stockbridge is the collaboration among the staff, the support from administration, and the kindness of the students,” Leuneberg said. “I’m able to see students for 90 minutes every day, which allows me to form relationships with each one.”

A native of the Bay City-Gladwin, Mich., area, Leuneberg loves the small-town environment of Stockbridge. She married her high school sweetheart, A.J., in August 2003, and they have two boys, Alvin, 10; and Adam, 7. The family lives in Howell, Mich.

She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and her Master of Arts from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mich. But Leuneberg didn’t start out as a teacher. She worked for two different companies before going back to school to gain her teaching degree.  She chose to teach social studies because it was the subject matter that she loved.

Stockbridge High School students are fortunate that she changed her career.

In Leuneberg’s classroom, students are exposed to subjects that are important to them. As an example, one former student became interested in promoting the importance of farming within the community and is currently crafting the farm bill in Washington, D.C.

Perhaps the high school principal Jeff Trapp best sums up the smiling brunette’s contributions. “We are extremely lucky to have a teacher like Mrs. Leuneberg in our high school,” he said. “She gives our students wonderful experiences to prepare them for personal decisions that they will face as adults.”