Occupational Therapist Jessica Golding likes to look at student needs and classroom challenges through an OT lens, then she gets to work creating unique solutions that benefit students and staff. Golding’s approach and outcomes at Ivymount School recently garnered state level recognition and exemplify the 2025 theme of Women’s History Month – “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations,” which recognizes the contributions of women in education, mentorship, and leadership.
Among nominees from across Maryland, Golding was awarded the Sarah Burton Visionary Leadership Award for Early Intervention and School-based Occupational and Physical Therapy. The awards committee recognized her “demonstration of interprofessional practices towards a shared goal and core leadership attributes” of the type exhibited by Sarah Burton, who served the students and occupational therapy staff of Prince George’s County Public Schools for 43 years and for whom the award is named.
Since 2021, Golding has been an occupational therapist at Ivymount School and also took on the role of OT Specialist in the Aspire Applied Program. She provides classroom and student specific recommendations, develops and leads teacher and staff training, and gives meaningful feedback on the classroom environment and instruction provided. “With my prior experience as a 1:1 aide and assistant teacher, I bring a unique understanding of the perspectives of both related service providers and classroom staff, which helps me cultivate a positive work environment and collaborative relationships,” said Golding in describing her role. “I am then able to influence improvements of OT-related universal programming in line with my vision for the betterment of the program and student participation.”
Golding has developed and led training for the teaching staff highlighting the role of school-based occupational therapy and tools to support students such as checklists, effective visuals and material management. Recognizing that students were having difficulty asking for and using accommodations, she began a multi-year initiative. She began by training teachers to use various assistive technology tools, then met with each student in the program directly and had them create a reference visual of their own accommodations to support self-advocacy. Students who were initially resistant to using their accommodations even with support have learned to independently access and use them. Golding is also part of an interdisciplinary team that includes speech therapy and mental health colleagues who created and delivered a new unit to support female students’ self-care and hygiene needs.
“Jessica is passionate about ensuring classroom environments support our students’ neurodivergence,” says Jennie Kampf, Director of the Aspire Program. “She advocates for neurodiverse students and helps educators better understand how to set up their students for success.”
Congratulations to Jessica Golding on the Visionary Leadership Award!
