Jessica Eve Towbin

Jessie was born on April 23, 1970, in New Haven, Connecticut, to Alan and Linda (Goldstein) Towbin. Jessie grew up in Bethany, Connecticut from the time she was six months old.

Jessie graduated from Amity High school (Woodbridge, Connecticut) In 1988. She received the Latin Club Scholarship, the German Club Scholarship, and the Congressional Medal of Merit.

She attended Oberlin College, where she majored in history and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Then she attended Brown University, where she earned an MA in history. For her masters thesis, Jessie wrote "Mark Twain's Platform Career and the Development of his Public Persona". Following that, she earned an MAT, a Master of Arts in Teaching, also from Brown University.

While at Brown for three years, Jessie was fortunate to work at the Coalition of Essential Schools, an organization founded by the late Theodore (Ted) Sizer. There she worked as a copy editor and research assistant for Patricia Wasley, the senior researcher for school change. She also got to write an annotated bibliography of school change, which meant that Jessie read dozens of books about teaching and school reform that formed the foundation of her philosophy about teaching before she stepped foot in a classroom.

Jessie was a middle- and high school teacher for 24 years, in four different schools, until ALS forced her to retire on disability. She taught at Illahee Jr. High School, Todd Beamer High School ( Federal Way School District), Health Sciences & Human Services High School, and Highline Big Picture School (Highline School District). Jessie was blessed with like minded, intellectual colleagues at each of these schools.

Teaching adolescents was definitely Jessie’s calling. She loved seeing her students use their minds well. She would get teary during Socratic seminars at witnessing their brilliance. She couldn’t imagine a more meaningful way to spend her working hours.

In and out of the classroom, Jessie always tried to keep in mind two truths that Deborah Meier, one of her role models, wrote: "Teaching is mostly listening, and learning is mostly telling." And, "Only secretly rebellious teachers have ever done right by our least advantaged kids."

The first one was harder, because Jessie liked to perform, and the classroom was a tempting stage. Nevertheless, her students kept her honest.

The second was much easier for Jessie, having come from a long line of rabble rousers. She was militant in her opposition to grades and standardized tests. The former met with dismay from certain students, and the latter met with more than one talking to from Jessie's principals. For the final seven years of her career, she was fortunate to teach at Highline Big Picture School, which doesn’t use grades.

For her entire teaching career, Jessie was devoted to progressive school reform, particularly the work of Ted Sizer and the Coalition of Essential Schools. Jessie was a leader in each school where she taught, as well as in the greater world of education. For many years she was a trainer with the National School Reform Faculty. After getting her National Board Teaching Certification in 2002, Jessie became involved with the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession, presenting at conferences for new NBCTs and contributed to their blog, Stories from Schools.

Jessie wished to acknowledge the following people who influenced her teaching: the late Seymour Sarason, a giant in the world of school reform and a dear family friend; Wilbur ( Bil) Johnson, Jessie's clinical professor at Brown; Tim Faychinead, Jessie's teaching partner for seven years at her first school; Mary Edwards, who Jessie’s teaching coach in her first high needs school; Joanna Michaelson, Jessie’s literacy coach; and lastly, Joshua Medaris, Jessie's teaching partner for the last seven years of her career.

Jessie met her late husband, Howard Kaplan, at a Chanukah party in Seattle. They were married in August 1999, after Howie spent 6 months going through treatment and surgery for cancer. Four years later, they welcomed Ethan into their lives. And another four years later, Max joined them. Ethan and Max were Jessie’s absolute joys in life.

Jessie met her second husband, Barry Lasky, in January 2018. She knew immediately that he was her person. After their first date, she told him about her ALS diagnosis, and he didn’t run for the hills. It was meant to be. They had a Jewish wedding in 2019 and were together until Jessie’s death.

Jessie was involved in her synagogue, Temple de Hirsch Sinai in Seattle. She served on the education committee and participated in adult learning on Sunday mornings with Barry. Jessie was also involved with the Oberlin Alumni Network, interviewing prospective applicants for many years.

Jessie inherited her father's interest in crafting things. She wove baskets, knitted, and crocheted. One of the hardest things about ALS is that it robbed Jessie's ability to use her hands.

Like many in her family, Jessie was a strong writer. One of her proudest accomplishments was having an article (“When Students Don’t Play the Game”) published in the journal Educational Leadership. When she lost her ability to use her hands, she created a blog, Imperfections of the Human State, where she published posts about living with ALS and other things by typing using her eyes.

Jessie touched many lives as a teacher. She continued to touch lives in retirement, whether it was friends who visited or those individuals who read her blog.

Jessie is survived by her husband, Barry Lasky of Seattle; children Ethan Kaplan and Max Kaplan, of Seattle, and Rowan Lasky of Walnut Grove, North Carolina. Mother, Linda Towbin of Bethany, Connecticut. Siblings, Sephrah Towbin and Bill Riley of Brooklyn, New York; Dina Towbin of Brooklyn, New York; Andrew Towbin of Deerfield Beach, Florida. And five nieces and nephews.

A funeral will be held at Butterworth Funeral Home on Friday, June 26, 2026 at 10:00am. A graveside service will follow at Hills of Eternity Cemetery.

Jessie and Barry's home will be open after the service for the afternoon for those who wish to gather and remember her.

Donations can be made in her honor to Temple de Hirsch Sinai and the ALS Association, Evergreen chapter.