Ms. Jessica Jones

Ms. Jessica Jones is Tunstall’s new Agriculture teacher this year. This semester she is teaching Introduction to Plant Systems, Introduction to Animal Systems, and Small Engine Repair. Ms. Jones has her Master’s degree in Agricultural Education and Interdisciplinary Education from Lynchburg College and spent her undergraduate years at Virginia Tech. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate degree at Lynchburg.

She has always taken an interest in plant physiology and horticulture. She has always been prone to allergies and was fascinated by the concept of plants creating medicines that could heal people of those allergies and other conditions, and her original plan was to become a doctor and research new medicines. Instead, her teachers convinced her that she was made to teach.

Ms. Jones shows a passion for teaching, her hope for her Tunstall is to “maximize student growth and opportunity and student population.” Originally from Nelson County, she came to Tunstall because she heard great things about the environment. When asked of her impression of Tunstall, she says she noticed “comradery, a warm, loving, and appreciative environment”. She says that there is a feeling she gets when she walks in the door that tells her there is a “passion and desire to learn, a rare quality not found in every school.”

Her experience teaching includes teaching Agriculture and Environmental Studies in Campbell County and at Chatham Middle School. In her free time, Ms. Jones enjoys traveling, cooking, sewing, painting, and playing piano.

Ms. Jones also has her own catering business where she serves homegrown foods, farm-to-table style meals help her incorporate her side job into her main career. She occasionally allows aspiring students to join her in catering so that they can learn more about food processing.

One of her students, however, joined her in more than just catering. A past student of hers, Lindsey, had a rough financial situation after the unexpected death of her father. In response, Ms. Jones took Lindsey under her wing, paying for her college and basically became her mother. “Enough money has come out of my pocket for me to call her my daughter.”

As co-sponsor of the new Robotics Team, she is very excited about all of the great experiences to come this semester. One of Ms. Jones’ comments about her experience at Tunstall is that she sees an “inherent belief to go above and beyond, and that is not something you can teach, but only nourish.” This quality seems to match her attitude toward her future at Tunstall High School.