Dr Amy Jackson Of Primrose Schools On How We Can Increase Girls’ Participation in Engineering and Robotics
An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
Speaking specifically from the early childhood education perspective, the biggest things we need to do are immerse children in rich experiences regularly, encourage creativity and confidence, and ensure they all feel like they belong in the learning activities. For young children, we know this happens best through play and intentional opportunities for exploration. This naturally enhances problem-solving skills and an understanding of concepts that is essential for later success.
Despite the growing importance of engineering and robotics in shaping our future, women remain significantly underrepresented in these fields. This series aims to explore and address the barriers that discourage girls from pursuing careers in engineering and robotics. We are talking to educators, industry leaders, pioneering women engineers, and robotics experts who have made significant contributions to their fields, to discuss the strategies they believe can inspire and increase the participation of young girls in engineering and robotics. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Amy Jackson.
Dr. Amy Jackson joined Primrose Schools as chief early learning strategy officer in January 2023. In this role, she leads the strategic development of the proprietary Balanced Learning® curriculum and innovation of education services and research across the franchise system. Jackson is an experienced business leader and educator who has dedicated her career to ensuring children have access to high-quality learning experiences and care. Jackson joins Primrose Schools after serving as a senior leader in education technology companies. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins University teaching Masters-level courses in education. She began her career as an elementary teacher, and her experience also includes service as an educational consultant supporting instructional effectiveness and school turnaround. Amy holds a doctorate in instructional leadership, a master’s in curriculum, a bachelor’s in early childhood education, and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I have always been drawn to education. I started my career as a teacher and loved every minute of it. But quickly I became fascinated by the broader industry and everything it takes to lead high-quality schools. I moved into consulting and worked primarily with “turnarounds.” I learned so much. Then, an opportunity came about with an education technology company. At that time, instructional technology was relatively new and there was a lot of room for improvement, to say the least. I loved being part of helping classroom technology evolve in a way that truly promotes effective teaching and adds to the delight of learning. And now, all of it is coming together in my role at Primrose, where I have the tremendous honor of working to continuously improve the exclusive, proprietary Balanced Learning® curriculum and support over 500 Primrose schools in providing high-quality early education and care to children around the country.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
In my first year as a teacher, I received a letter from a prison. It was from the father of one of my students, who wanted to apologize for not being able to come to parent-teacher conferences. He thanked me for caring about his daughter and helping her believe her future was different and bright. Of course, I’ve always believed in the importance of teachers and the power of education — but that opened my eyes to just how life-changing both really can be.
What inspired you to pursue a career in engineering or robotics, and how can we replicate that inspiration for young girls?
So much about how we see the world and what we believe about ourselves and others is formed in childhood. I believe high-quality early childhood education that encourages curiosity and promotes confidence to try new things is essential to helping young girls imagine their own future without limitations.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My 6th grade science teacher, Mr. Radie. I lacked confidence in STEM subjects, and I know it was obvious. But he approached every lesson as true inquiry and discovery and made me believe that I belonged there.
Can you share a story of a challenge you faced as a woman in engineering or robotics and how you overcame it?
Education technology is an interesting space. While the service and support teams at the companies I worked at were mostly women with teaching experience, the software engineers were predominately men with no education background. This created a communication barrier — and a lack of empathy in some cases. While it wasn’t necessarily a big conflict or a gender equity issue, I have thought about what negative effects it had on what we were delivering to schools.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I’ve read so many incredible books, but silly as it may be, “Harold and the Purple Crayon” is probably the one that has had the greatest impact on me. It shows how far an imagination can take you and how problems can be solved with a little creativity.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
At Primrose Schools, our mission is to forge a path that leads to a brighter future for all children, and as the leading provider of early education and care, we live that every day. But achieving our mission doesn’t just mean ensuring high-quality teaching and learning is happening in Primrose schools — it’s also leading the way in innovation to advance the entire field. We’re always thinking big about ways we can spread the effectiveness of our Balanced Learning® approach. One example of this is our partnership to support the West Lakes Early Learning Center, an innovative nonprofit that combines high-quality early education, child care and comprehensive health, wellness and social services for underserved families in Florida. Our Balanced Learning curriculum is embedded in the center, and resources and support are provided pro-bono.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this report, only about 16% of engineering positions in the US are held by women. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from Engineering and Robotics?
Empowered women begin as confident girls. Research shows that interest in STEM drops in girls most in middle school, but we also know that stereotypes and gender biases start much earlier. Evidence suggests that girls are often less likely to take risks and experiment with something new -– and that’s essential to the creativity and perseverance necessary to be successful in STEM fields.
This might be intuitive to you but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should enter the Engineering and Robotics fields?
All professions are important and contribute, but we know fields like Engineering and Robotics are central to our future as a society — our economy, our security, and even our health. The needs in these areas continue to grow, so we need more qualified people and a diversity of perspectives engaged. Separately but importantly, careers in STEM fields tend to be higher paying, which is important for the advancement of women and closing wage gaps.
Can you please share “5 Things We Need To Increase Girls’ Participation in Engineering and Robotics?” If you can, please share an example or story for each.
Speaking specifically from the early childhood education perspective, the biggest things we need to do are immerse children in rich experiences regularly, encourage creativity and confidence, and ensure they all feel like they belong in the learning activities. For young children, we know this happens best through play and intentional opportunities for exploration. This naturally enhances problem-solving skills and an understanding of concepts that is essential for later success.
In your opinion, what are the most effective ways to introduce girls to engineering and robotics at an early age?
STEM concepts need to be intentionally woven into early learning experiences, and those experiences must be structured in a way that inspires inquiry and problem solving. Young children — including young girls — are natural scientists, but they need opportunities to show it. At Primrose Schools, for example, our Balanced Learning approach balances purposeful play with nurturing guidance from teachers to help children make discoveries and deepen their understanding. From robots and early coding to city planning and examining the parts of plants, STEM topics are part of everyday in every classroom.
How do you think the portrayal of women in STEM fields by media and educational materials impacts girls’ interest in engineering and robotics?
There’s no doubt women and their achievements have historically been underrepresented by the media, but I think that’s beginning to change. To combat the biases and stereotypes that still linger, we must intentionally include and highlight a wide range of examples of women in the field. And in early education, we know positive exposure can happen through books and things like inviting family members into classrooms to share about their professions. And it’s not just about how young girls see women — it’s also about how they see themselves. In early childhood, dramatic play is a big deal for this reason, and teachers can help encourage girls to “dress up” as scientists and doctors and pilots.
What advice would you give to girls who are interested in engineering and robotics but are hesitant to take the first step?
Young girls need to hear consistently and in many different ways that they belong. The more they feel like they belong in their classroom today, the more likely they are to feel like they belong in a career someday.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I mentioned before that every child should feel like they belong in school and in any profession they choose. But more than that, every child deserves someone who believes in them.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
The Primrose Schools blog and resources page often highlights how we are leading the way in integrating STEM into early education.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
