Junaluska teacher wins statewide award for teaching reading
Susan DelBene, Assistant Superintendent Jill Barker, Associate Superintendent Graham Haynes, Jenna Jones, Alex Masciarelli and Superintendent Trevor Putnam. File photo
Each year the North Carolina Department of Education travels across the state to recognize one district or school per region that stands out for their work and commitment to the Science of Reading.
For the first time ever, this Champion for Change Award has been given to an individual teacher, one Jenna Jones, who teaches first grade at Junaluska Elementary School.
“At the State Board of Education meeting in December Ms. Jones was the only teacher recipient of the Champion of Change award,” said Junaluska Elementary Principal Alex Masciarelli. “Everyone else was a building or district level leader. It was really amazing to see her recognized.”
The Champion for Change Award is presented on behalf of former North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt, who left office at the beginning of this year, and recognizes district leaders of systems who have used data to align literacy strategies that are having an impact on student outcomes. In addition to the award, recipients are also added to the NC Promising Practices Map highlighting their work in early literacy.
“Jenna’s passion for instruction is incredible,” said Masciarelli. “She brings positivity and intensity to her classroom every day. She inspires her students to achieve and grow.”
The Science of Reading, a term first coined in 1830s, is a method of reading instruction based on thousands of studies from around the world that emphasize the importance of phonics and learning to sound out words.
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The research guides teachers to efficiently teach all students to read by focusing on five keys: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. In recent years, North Carolina teachers have undergone extensive Science of Reading training to improve the way students are taught to read by using the science behind it.
“The work put in to helping my students grow is for their benefit and future success,” said Jones. “The only recognition sought is the praise they receive from their families who get to be a part of the process. I take an all-hands-on-deck approach to teaching kids to read and it’s to the credit of those that support the process that make it a success. Students buy in and work hard, families support and encourage, and my TA and I cater to their growing needs.”
But this year, Jones received even more recognition for her hard work when she became the first ever traditional classroom teacher to win the Champion for Change Award. Prior to this the award has been to individual districts and individual schools.
Amy Rhyne is the Assistant Director of Early Learning for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. When she presented Jones with the award, she said, “Jenna is a reflective practitioner who exhibits a continuous improvement mindset. She is always eager to learn and improve based on feedback and data to effectively serve her children, as well as her peers.”
In addition to her role as a classroom teacher, Jones serves on the Fundations District Leadership Team, has led professional development on the effective implementation of best practices in the classroom aligned to Fundations, has led district Geodes (a reading method that builds content knowledge of science, history and the arts) training and created videos of how she uses this curriculum to address accuracy, fluency and comprehension to be shared with her colleagues.
“Not only have I learned so much about early literacy from Jenna, but dozens of fellow educators from HCS have as well from being able to observe her in action,” Masciarelli said.
“She willingly serves as a model classroom for other educators to observe, learn and collaborate,” said Rhyne. “Jenna took time to train her Instructional Assistant in the Science of Reading, and LETRS strategies, so they work seamlessly as an instructional team with high expectations for their children.”
Jones is quick to attribute her classroom’s success to the supportive environment she is surrounded with in Haywood County Schools.
“Students buy in and work hard, families support and encourage, and my [teaching assistant] and I cater to their growing needs,” said Jones. “Title 1 assistants focus on mastering skills, MTSS teams track and ensure growth and school/ district leaders continue to provide support for doing what’s best for students.”
“It is not on my own accord that first-graders are being equipped with strong early reading skills,” Jones said.
Testing data show that Jones’ students are experiencing incredible growth in reading capability. Last year composite scores showed that 90% of her students were above or well above benchmark — this at a time when national data shows reading skills among United States children have reached an all-time low.
What’s more, 100% of students in Jones’ classroom were at or above benchmark in phoneme sound fluency, 95% of students were at or above benchmark in nonsense word fluency, and 80% of students were at or above benchmark in oral reading fluency.
Jenna Jones receives Champion for Change Award at a State Board of Education meeting. File photo
“Jenna is an educator we would love to replicate in every school across our state,” said Rhyne. “She is a passionate leader who has a heart to serve at the district, school, grade and classroom levels. There is no doubt that she knows how to effectively use assessments and data as a part of her daily instruction for timely and continuous improvement.”
Jones knew she wanted to be a teacher by the time she left the third grade. Like so many people, the memory and influence of one special elementary school teacher is forever imprinted in her mind. In Jones’ case, that irreplaceable force was Ms. McBurney.
“A big part of teaching is being able to meet students where they are, find out how they learn best, and inspire them to grow to be their best,” said Jones. “Ms. McBurney was a master at this. She had high expectations for us all but found ways to encourage us all to flourish in our own ways. It was my years with her that helped me develop a love for school and a joy in teaching.”
Ms. McBurney gave Jones leadership roles in the classroom that allowed her to use her talents to help others and Jones says she ate it up. She began playing school at home with her sister, and for years to come, Jones played the role of teacher.
“It was because of her that I wanted to become a teacher myself and have that same impact on other kids,” Jones said.
Jones received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Berea College in Kentucky and then went on to get a Masters in Reading and Writing Instruction K-12 at the University of the Cumberlands. She would go on to teach in Kentucky for five years before taking time off to focus on raising her own children.
“I cherished those years with them, but as soon as they were both in school, back to the classroom I went as well,” Jones said.
During her years at home, the family had moved back to Western North Carolina, where her husband was raised. When she returned to the classroom, Jones did so, at first, as a part-time Title 1 reading and math interventionist in Haywood County Schools.
“That year was exactly what I needed to accustom myself to the teacher life again, but I knew I needed more,” Jones recalled. “I’ve always loved the experience of having my own classroom with my own students and getting to build those daily relationships with them. The more you get to know a child, the better able you are to connect with them and help them grow.”
The very next year, Jones took on a first-grade classroom, and she’s remained in that position ever since.
“My time in the classroom before babies was spent teaching 5th grade, and I loved the opportunity to expand student knowledge in science and social studies, while equipping them with skills needed to thrive in middle school life,” Jones said. “However, it was that first year in first grade and being able to experience the immense growth that students undergo at that age that has had me forever hooked on first grade.”
“Students come to you straight out of kindergarten and the growth that you’re able to witness in them in just a year’s time is simply remarkable,” Jones continued. “I love playing a role in that and have for going on four years now.”
Jones says her teaching method follows the Science of Reading research which proves how brains learn to read. Reading is not typically something that just happens over time, and she’s found that the best way to teach kids to read is through a systematic approach that caters to their reading news as they grow.
“Explicitly teaching and practicing the sounds and decoding skills needed to read removes the guessing game that reading can often be for kids,” Jones said. “Instead of handing them a book that they fumble through and encounter several works that they do not know how to read, the Science of Reading approach better prepares kids to be confident readers.”
The Science of Reading approach takes students through the process of learning the makeup of words, reading sounds in isolation and blending those sounds together to read words. The idea is to frontload the focus on how to recognize and read parts of words so that they can apply those skills to reading any word they come in contact with.
For example, instead of reading a sentence about a cat, Science of Reading teaches students not to depend on the context or picture of a cat in a story to guess the word cat, but rather know each sound that the letters make, and how to blend them together to read the word.
Other parts include taking those skills further by focusing on reading fluently and comprehending what they read, all in an effort to build strong readers.
“A student’s reading skills in first grade are a strong predictor of the reading skills they’ll have as an adult,” Jones said. “Reading ability affects overall development, academic performance, knowledge, critical thinking skills, imagination and ultimately prevents dropouts.”
“Knowing that really brings into perspective the importance of a teacher,” Jones continued. “Reading is an essential skill that can shape a child’s future, and I get to be part of helping set them on that track to success.”
Jones doesn’t take for granted the difference she can make for the students in her classroom. She knows that on most days, students spend more time with their teachers at school than they do with their own family members at home. That’s a lot of time to have a big impact on a kid academically, emotionally and inspirationally. That’s why her classroom has become her mission field.
“I never doubt that each kid placed in my room is there for a reason and even on the toughest of days, I love getting the chance to do for them what one teacher did for me so long ago,” said Jones.
As Rhyne put it when she presented Jones with the Champion for Change award, “hidden in the mountains of Western North Carolina, there is a unique gem they call Jenna Jones.”
