Jeanette Martinez was born in St. Anthony, Idaho, the third of four children.  She moved to Rexburg, Idaho when she was 11. She and her husband have just moved to Provo where her husband will be a law student at BYU.

Education and Related Experience

Mrs. Martinez received her B.A. from Brigham Young University – Idaho in History. She became interested in Chinese History and decided to study that in graduate school, so she began taking Mandarin classes at BYU-Idaho. A year later in the summer of 2004, she went to China to teach English at a Middle School. From there she went to the University of Texas where she received her M.A. in Asian Studies. Her area of interest was China, with an emphasis in its history and language. She also has studied Spanish. Her teaching experience includes teaching children of all ages:

• After School Programs at 21st Century Elementary in Austin, Texas
• Summer Camp at Wesley School – Austin, Texas
• A foreign language middle school in China
• Substitute Teacher grades 6-12
• Helped in the Homework Help room
• English Teacher, Sugar Salem School District Sugar City, Idaho

She has also worked at a Planetarium and Observatory giving presentations to students (elementary - high school) and adult groups on stars, constellations, galaxies, and the use of telescopes.

She loves the focus on patriotism at American Legacy Academy.  She feels that “patriotism has been lost in many schools throughout the country, yet it is so important for us as Americans to believe in our country and the ideals it holds.  The United States is a wonderful place to live, with opportunities not even dreamed of in other countries, and we should be teaching our children to embrace our heritage, not be ashamed of it.” 

She also believes, as a private school, that the academic expectations and achievements are much higher than public schools, and is thrilled at the chance to be a part of helping students learn and grow into highly-educated, well-adjusted, and confidant adults.
     She hopes that her influence will help her students build the self-confidence they will need to be firm in their testimonies and succeed in life both academically and socially.  “Knowing they are children of God and that He loves them will inspire them to respect themselves and others, and will lead them to act like the beings of divine potential they are.  If they can believe in themselves and know truths for themselves, they will not be “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” or learning.

“In addition to this, I hope to teach them to work hard, to not give up.  With these basic attributes, they will then be less likely to allow peer pressure to make them deviate from a path of success to one of failure.

“Also, and most importantly, I pray that I will remember that the children in my class are all God’s children and that He loves them and would want me to treat them with the love and respect they deserve as His children.  I have found that it is hard to look into the face of a child and not see how precious they are to God.  As long as I maintain that focus, I find that I have all the excitement and energy and love I need to give them.”

Interests and Activities

Mrs. Martinez enjoys reading, especially historical fiction; rock climbing, playing the piano, singing, games, traveling learning new languages and culture, and teaching