Mrs. Jessica Barnum

Hello Palo Alto Patriots! My name is Jessica Barnum and I'm the new choir director for the 2023-2024 school year. I'm in my 16^th year of teaching. I'm so excited to be joining this team and I can't wait to work with all of you! 

I was born and raised in sunny San Diego, California. I am a beach girl through and through. I moved from there to attend college at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. I know you all are thinking that I must be used to this heat, but Flagstaff is up in the mountains. We had cool summers and snowy winters. 

After I graduated with my Bachelor's in Choral Conducting I taught private voice lessons and music in the elementary schools there until 2016. My husband and 3 boys relocated to Central Texas in 2016 and I've been working for Killeen ISD ever since. I taught elementary music until 2021 and then moved to Killeen High School as their Assistant Choir Director. I spent 2 years there and decided to move to Palo Alto.

I've been married to my best friend Jacob for the past 22 years. Together we have 3 boys ages 21, 16, and 12 and an adorable chiweenie dog named Spookie.