Chapel Hill-Carrboro teacher is North Carolina's new Teacher of the Year

A Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools teacher is the next Burroughs Wellcome North Carolina Teacher of the Year.

Kimberly Jones, a Chapel Hill High School English teacher, will take the next school year off to travel the state and advocate for the teaching profession. Jones will also serve for two years as an adviser to the State Board of Education and receive some prizes.

Jones was announced as the winner during a luncheon Friday at the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary.

Jones has been teaching at Chapel Hill High in 2006, after graduating from Wake Forest University, where she earned both a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree.

She told WRAL News on Friday that diversifying the teacher workforce and making sure all students have what they need to succeed in life are two of her top priorities.

“I see and experienced the transformative power of education,” Jones said. ”I know education helps students to see version of themselves maybe they may not know exists.”

Jones became a teacher because she wanted to help everyone, no matter their background, to have an education that opens up opportunities for them. She wants to fix disparities in academic opportunities and achievements among students, by race and income level.

“I believe that children can be educated and equipped to build a better future,” Jones said. “And every day, every lesson, every semester, every year, I'm showing up to help build the world that I want to grow old in, that I want my stepsons to grow up in.”

Educators of the year return to their schools after one year, though they often instead end up working in the private or nonprofit sector, becoming consultants or moving up in administration.

Jones was selected among nine finalists. Eight come from the state’s education regions and the ninth comes from among charter schools. The other finalists were:

• Northeast: Casey Schulte, Bath Elementary (Beaufort County Schools)
• Sandhills: Teena Robinson, Mineral Springs Elementary (Richmond County Schools)
• Northwest: Shea Bolick, South Caldwell High (Caldwell County Schools)
• Piedmont-Triad: Tiffany Wynn, Thomasville Middle (Thomasville City Schools)
• Southeast: Laura Wilson, Roger Bell New Tech Academy (Craven County Schools)
• Western: Rachael Ray, Madison High (Madison County Schools)
• Southwest: Rachel Frye, East Lincoln High (Lincoln County Schools)
• Charter School: Ryan Henderson, Sugar Creek Charter School (located in Charlotte)

Teachers of the year first win the honor for their individual school, then their district and then their educational region or among charter schools.

A fourth-grade school teacher from Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, Eugenia Floyd, won two years ago and will rotate off the state board. Jones will replace Leah Carper, a high school English teacher from Guilford County, as the current Teacher of the Year.

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said Jones makes students feel good about going to school by trusting them and allowing them to be themselves. That allows those students to freely explore their potential, Truitt said.

Jones also makes sure all students are included, no matter what, Truitt said. She makes virtual components of in-person activities to make sure students who can’t get to the even can still experience it. She helps other teachers find ways to reach more students.

“Every school needs a Mrs. Jones,” Truitt said in an announcement. “Its obvious that students thrive in her classes, and that she makes things happen for the better in her school.”

Jones’ now-retired principal, Charles Blanchard, recommended Jones and said her vision has helped the whole high school more effectively reach all students and give them each what they need to succeed, using a “more equity-centered” approach. That leadership, he wrote in her nomination, has given students of color more opportunities and resulted in more students of color enrolling in honors and Advanced Placement courses.

Jones is still focused on the current school year and hasn’t made plans for what she wants to do when she travels across the state. But she expects to see a lot of hard-working teachers in a climate of both challenges and opportunities.

She’s excited about some public and private investments in schools, as well as growing grassroots organizations doing work in schools, helping students be more equipped to learn in school.

Challenges are also growing, she said.

Educators are still exploring everything children need, in school and out of school, to be ready to learn in the classroom, especially coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Being able to meet both the academic and emotional needs of our students is going to be a great challenge,” she said.

As Teacher of the Year, she wants to spread the word about what educators are doing to help.

That students can reach their potential and serve their communities is key for Jones.

“I want my kids to feel empowered to fix the injustices to address the climate crisis to improve their communities,” Jones said. “I want my kids to have the opportunity to build a world where they don't have to leave home to experience growth and opportunity. And I think public education is the greatest investment that any community can make in its future.”