Could this Chapel Hill High English teacher be the next NC Teacher of the Year?
Chapel Hill High School celebrated one of its own teachers as she received a prestigious honor that could earn her the title as the next North Carolina Teacher of the Year.
Surrounded by her coworkers, family and friends Friday, Kimberly Jones was named the 2023 Burroughs Wellcome North Central Region Teacher of the Year, making her one of nine finalists in the running for the state award.
Jones teaches standard and honors English at Chapel Hill High with a focus on global literature. The recent honor comes a few months after she was named the school system’s 2022-23 Teacher of the Year in June.
“I’m deeply honored and really privileged to represent all of the teaches in the North Central Region,” Jones said in an interview with The News & Observer. “There are outstanding schools in each one of those districts, including the one I grew up in, Harnett County.”
A native of Erwin, Jones is in her 17th year of teaching in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and began teaching at 23 years old right after graduating from Wake Forest University.
Over ther career, Jones has taught and helped thousands of students. Some have come back to teach alongside her, she said.
“Chapel Hill is an incredible community and the kids here are diverse and talented and fun. I could go on about high school,” Jones said. “They’re on the cusp of deciding who they want to be and what to do in the world. ... I get a small window to help influence that a little bit.”
In addition to teaching English, Jones also helps run Chapel Hill High’s AVID program, which helps prepare students for college and careers.
“In four years, I get the chance to work with a small but very talented group of students to give them that little extra bit of support,” she said. “They take the advanced classes, take the SAT, take the ACT and navigate other things. A lot of these students are first-generation college students.”
Regional teachers of the year are chosen for their “dedication, implementation of best practices and their ability to motivate students to achieve their highest potential,” according to the school district.
Before Jones, two teachers from Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools earned the regional honor in the last two years including Brian Link, a Social Justice Civics and Economics teacher at East Chapel Hill High in 2021, and Eugenia Floyd, a fourth-grade teacher at Mary Scroggs Elementary in 2020. Floyd was later named the North Carolina Teacher of the Year last year.
“Kim Jones is an equity-centered teacher who has high expectations for all students,” said Chapel Hill High Principal Charles Blanchard. “She fosters an outstanding culture of community in her classroom that makes every student feel valued. All students should be blessed to have a ‘Mrs. Jones’ in their lives.”
Jones will advance to the competition for the 2023 North Carolina Teacher of the Year.
A winner is chosen by a committee of educators, business and community leaders. The program was created in 1970 to honor state teachers and since the inception, five winners have become national finalists and one has been inducted into the National Teachers’ Hall of Fame, according to the State Department of Public Instruction, which houses the State Board of Education.
“I’ve been really blessed to have students and parents who felt moved or motivated by my teaching,” Jones said. “When you think about the scope and size of North Carolina, with 100 different counties and 100 different school districts, it seems overwhelming that you are somehow a standout amongst such incredible teachers and educators.”
“I want to strive to continue to be deserving of the kind words, the belief and the honor that’s been given to me.”
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 12:40 PM with the headline "Could this Chapel Hill High English teacher be the next NC Teacher of the Year?."