Advanced Academics Coach – Megan Detweiler

Hello and welcome to the 2026-2027 school year at Jefferson Middle School. I am Megan Detweiler, the Advanced Academics Coach (AAC).  I am a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hold my gifted endorsement from the College of William and Mary, and my M.Ed. in gifted education from Arizona State. My teaching experience includes five years of teaching middle school science, social studies, and English in Phoenix, AZ, and six years of teaching middle school English in Alexandria and Arlington. This is my 9th year as AAC at Jefferson, and my 19th year of working in a middle school. I live in Arlington with my husband and three kids, all of whom attend Arlington Public Schools.

At Jefferson there are over 350 students identified as gifted. As an AAC, I am committed to developing talent and fostering potential in all students, including those not  identified as gifted yet. It is my philosophy that the APS model for gifted education is best practice for most of our students and I’ve made it my mission to promote critical thinking opportunities, rigorous curriculum, and engaging interaction strategies in as many classes as possible. Due to the large number of students identified as gifted, your students will not have me as a core teacher, nor will I regularly pull small groups of students. I work largely as an instructional coach, as a co-teacher, and as a facilitator of professional development. I meet with your child’s teachers on a weekly basis to plan for engaging instruction and I am often part of their classes as a push-in teacher, making sure teachers feel supported and confident with the APS critical and creative thinking framework throughout the year and across content areas.