Hello! I’m Jen Szwaya. I have been serving advanced learners & developing talent for nearly two decades.
I have taught advanced learners, designed programs andistrict instructional leadership and curriculum design, all focused on identifying and addressing advanced learners’ academic and social-emotional needs. My work centers on creating differentiated curricula, implementing acceleration and enrichment strategies, and coaching teachers and administrators to build systems that support advanced students and their families.
I am the author of Shakespeare Amazes in the Classroom (Routledge), an elected board member of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children (IAGC), and have provided university-affiliated professional learning … more
Designing systems to support advanced learning & talent development is my mission.
I see the challenges faced by districts, schools and teachers serving advanced learners, and I know the path to solutions can be complex.
There are layers of complex challenges when working to meet the needs of advanced learners. These often include:
Limited clarity on how to operationalize a diamond model for advanced learners within MTSSSignificant variation in the level of rigor provided across classrooms
Enrichment disconnected from core learning expectations
Lack of rigor in Tier 1 instruction
Lack of program coherence or evidence of efficacy
Equity constrained by identification systems, programming and resources
Misalignment between programming and the students being served
Frustrated, confused or disengaged stakeholders
Inconsistent instructional differentiation for advanced learners
Limited clarity on how to operationalize a diamond model for advanced learners within MTSS
Most schools work hard to serve advanced learners, but the conditions that develop advanced thinking are often inconsistent across classrooms, grade levels, and programs.
The challenges can be addressed.
The prevalence of these common challenges is not due to lack of effort!
Rather, they are the result of a lack of system coherence. I work with schools and districts to move from fragmented advanced learning services toward coherent systems for developing complex thinking.
This means designing aligned structures across curriculum, instruction, professional learning, and communication with stakeholders, so that advanced learning is not dependent on individual teachers, leaders, or isolated programs—but is embedded in how a system functions.
My work focuses on building coherence so that rigor, depth, and opportunity are not accidental, but intentionally designed.
How does this look in schools?
Integrated Differentiation
Unit design includes opportunities for students to engage with depth & complexity. Enrichment is integrated into core learning rather than added as unrelated activities.
Rigorous Classrooms
Students engage in tasks that require sustained reasoning, transfer, and explanation—not just completion or recall. Differentiation increases intellectual demand rather than reducing it. Metacognition and reflection are present in student self evaluations. Students ask questions and have agency.
Systemwide Coherence
Advanced learning is coordinated across grade levels and schools. Expectations for rigor are consistent, and access to advanced opportunities is broadened without lowering expectations.
Let’s Have a Conversation!
If your school or district is working toward an improved system for advanced learning, I welcome a conversation to see how my strengths and experience might align with your challenges. These are problems I like to solve.