[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-graduate-awarded-teacher-year-elmore-county-high-school\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-graduate-awarded-teacher-year-elmore-county-high-school\/","headline":"Faulkner graduate awarded Teacher of the Year from Elmore County High School","name":"Faulkner graduate awarded Teacher of the Year from Elmore County High School","description":"Faulkner University graduate Mary Lawless Jones was recently awarded Teacher of the Year of Elmore County High School. Mary Lawless Jones\u2019 dropped her camera on the football field in shock when they called out her name. The Faulkner University graduate…","datePublished":"2017-11-30","dateModified":"2019-09-19","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/#Person","name":"Rebecca Burylo","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Faulkner University","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","width":480,"height":128}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/22228517_1491060367641972_5293298803099714547_n.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/22228517_1491060367641972_5293298803099714547_n.jpg","height":"202","width":"300"},"url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-graduate-awarded-teacher-year-elmore-county-high-school\/","about":["Adult Students","Alumni","Graduate","News","Online"],"wordCount":494,"articleBody":"Faulkner University graduate Mary Lawless Jones was recently awarded Teacher of the Year of Elmore County High School.Mary Lawless Jones\u2019 dropped her camera on the football field in shock when they called out her name.The Faulkner University graduate was named Elmore County High School\u2019s Teacher of the Year.Jones was first called out to the football field earlier this fall to take pictures of the school’s homecoming and the person who would be crowned Teacher of the Year. Little did she know the award would go to her.\u201cThe announcer said my name and I just dropped the camera very surprised and I don\u2019t know why, but I was crying,\u201d Jones said.It was an emotional moment and one that was well deserved, said Principal Wes Rogers.\u201cShe has been such a blessing to us since she came here,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cRight away when she interviewed for a teaching position, I knew she would be a great fit.\u201cShe has great repore with her students, has made those connections and those relationships and is very involved in our school. We\u2019re fortunate to have her.\u201dWhen Jones is not training her classroom\u2019s favorite black service dog, Mason, teaching English, helping students plan community service projects, coordinating the school\u2019s yearbook staff or taking pictures of school events, she is at home raising a young family.A mother of two, Mary is married to Millbrook City Councilman Justin Jones, who is also a Faulkner graduate. Still in her 20s, Jones has her hands full.Jones teaches 9th\u00a0grade English, is the teacher sponsor for the Christian student-led organization, First Priority, sponsors the schools\u2019 Key Club, which allows students to organize community service projects, helps lead the yearbook staff and takes care of the school\u2019s service dog, which helps relieve students\u2019 stress and anxiety.This year her efforts were rewarded\u00a0after her coworkers nominated her for Teacher of the Year.The award is given every year to a deserving teacher at each public school in Alabama for not only their work in the classroom, but for the extra hours they put in every day. Jones will go on to compete at the county level and an announcement on who will be progressing to the state level will be made in January.\u201cIt\u2019s exciting and a surprise to get that award,\u201d said Jones. \u201cWe have such amazing teachers here and so many who deserve Teacher of the Year. It was not expected, but it was very nice.\u201dJones graduated from Faulkner in 2012, interned for Elmore County Public Schools and taught with Coosa County Schools before\u00a0she was hired in 2013 by Elmore County Public Schools.\u201cWe always joke that Elmore County High School is the Disney World of Alabama high schools because it\u2019s just that great,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI\u2019m very blessed to be here and you can\u2019t find any better people than you find here in Eclectic.\u201d"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Faulkner graduate awarded Teacher of the Year from Elmore County High School","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-graduate-awarded-teacher-year-elmore-county-high-school\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]