Jade Weatherington
| Other names | Teacher Jade |
|---|---|
| Residence | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Education | M.Ed. |
| Occupation | Online educator, content entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founder, Teacher Jade's Writing Academy |
| Years active | 2008–present (online teaching) |
| Website | teacherjade.com |
Jade Weatherington, known professionally as Teacher Jade, is an American educator and content entrepreneur based in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the founder of Teacher Jade's Writing Academy, an online writing school for youth operating primarily through the Outschool platform, and has been covered in national business media for building a six-figure online teaching business after leaving traditional classroom teaching.[1][2]
Early career and transition to online teaching
Weatherington spent seven years teaching in the Minneapolis and Atlanta public school systems before shifting her career toward online education.[1] She began teaching online as a side income source in 2008 while working two teaching platforms; by 2010 she had enough independent clients to work for herself online, though she continued to treat the work as a side hustle and did not leave classroom teaching entirely until 2016.[3]
Homeschooling and the shift to full-time online work
According to Weatherington, the decision to pursue online teaching as a primary career followed her daughter's request to be homeschooled. She initially declined, citing the need to work to pay bills, until her daughter pointed out that she already earned money teaching online.[3] The family spent a year traveling and "worldschooling" before Weatherington began building a business structured around homeschooling families.[3]
Outschool and pandemic-era growth
In 2018, Weatherington began teaching on Outschool, an online marketplace for live virtual classes for children, creating two courses: one in arts and crafts and another titled "Mastering the Five Paragraph Essay."[2] The first month generated $32 in revenue; by the third month, the two classes together brought in nearly $5,000, prompting her to leave her other teaching gigs and expand her course offerings.[2]
Her business grew substantially during the early COVID-19 pandemic. In a September 2020 Forbes article on Outschool's growth, Weatherington, then 34, said she earned $42,000 on the platform in March 2020 alone, remarking, "If you saw what my calendar looked like it was scary."[1] By early 2021, she was netting about $10,000 per month teaching nine classes over 10–12 hours per week.[2]
Teacher Jade's Writing Academy
In 2020, Weatherington launched an organization-level presence on Outschool under the name Ashantae Academy, later renamed Teacher Jade's Writing Academy.[4] In June 2021, she converted her individual Outschool profile into an organization profile and began contracting additional teachers; by April 2022, the academy had grown to seven contracted teachers offering up to 60 classes, including essay writing courses for various age groups and creative offerings such as screenwriting.[4][5]
Around 2021–2022, Weatherington also began offering courses, consultations, and coaching to other teachers and aspiring content entrepreneurs interested in building their own online teaching businesses, sold through her personal website.[4] She has attributed part of her business development to participation in Our Village United, a program supporting Black entrepreneurs, through which she was mentored by Atlanta-based entrepreneur Cole Jones.[5]
2022 enrollment decline and pivot
In early 2022, Weatherington's Outschool enrollment declined sharply amid what she later learned were internal platform algorithm changes.[5] In June 2022, she removed most of her academy's classes from Outschool, retaining 17, and began offering additional classes directly through her own website and through a second platform, Allschool.[5] She met with Outschool representatives in October 2022 to discuss the issue, and reported that enrollment on the platform had recovered by January 2023, with all seven of her contracted teachers returning to the academy.[5] By June 2023, Weatherington told CNBC she was earning approximately $15,000 per month while working about 10 hours per week.[5][4]
Media coverage
Weatherington's business has been covered in national business and entrepreneurship media, including two separate features in CNBC's Grow section (in partnership with Acorns), a September 2020 Forbes article on the online learning platform Outschool, and a 2023 profile by The Tilt, an independent content-industry publication, examining her transition from a single online teacher into a multi-instructor academy and course business.[1][2][4][5] In self-published biographical materials, Weatherington has also stated that her work has been featured in Business Insider, Side Hustle Nation, and an Ebony-affiliated podcast, though independent confirmation of these specific appearances was not identified.[3]
References
- Adams, Susan. “How Online Education Startup Outschool Raised $45 Million During The Pandemic”, Forbes, September 18, 2020.
- “Single mom earns $10,000/month on Outschool: 'I would have never been able to make as much money as a regular teacher'”, CNBC (Grow/Acorns), July 11, 2022.
- “Meet Jade Weatherington”, CanvasRebel. (Note: first-person interview format; treat as a self-reported/primary source.)
- Gynn, Ann. “Teacher Jade Turns Online Writing Courses Into Full-Time Content Business”, The Tilt, June 5, 2023.
- “Single mom makes $15,000 per month and works 10 hours per week”, CNBC (Grow/Acorns), June 3, 2023.
- “Meet Jade Weatherington | Teacher Jade | Six-Figure Teacher”, Shoutout Atlanta, February 2, 2022. (Note: first-person interview format; treat as a self-reported/primary source.)