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Leslie Jones is a new teacher at NS, but this isn’t her first year teaching. She is the Family and Consumer Science teacher. She teaches early childhood education, foods and nutrition 1 and 2, and interior design 1 and 2.
“I just love education. I’m very passionate about education and teaching,” Jones said.
She has taught many classes from elementary, to middle school, to high school. Some of these include P.E. and health.
Jones has a health background and has taken nutrition classes. She loves to cook, bake, and experiment in her own kitchen. Jones has a personal training background and certification. She has also taken many nutrition courses.
She started as a TA at the high school after COVID. Jones loved the people and the connections she made as she got to know the students, so she decided to teach. Another reason she chose to be a teacher was because her dad and three of her sisters were teachers too.
“I think that was the foundation when I applied for college,” Jones said.
When she went to college, Jones didn’t know whether to go into education or not. Her mom told her that she should apply for PE or other sport classes. Jones took all the sports classes, and she thought it was really fun.
She grew up playing soccer. She also did track, basketball, and softball. One surprising thing about her is that she made the football team as the kicker.
Jones grew up in a big family. She has six siblings. She is a single mom and has three kids, two girls and one boy. Addelynne who is 14, Aurora who is 12, and Makai who is 9.
“I love to help others and I love to learn. I’m always studying something new,” Jones said.
Jones likes to try other things that are not just about education and teaching. She just finished her second training in hypnotherapy. She has many other certifications besides teaching. Jones has studied a lot about personal training, fitness, and NLP which is Neuro Linguistic Programming.
Jones enjoys her time at the high school and tries to do her best to help the students learn. She tries to help, guide, and support her students in any way that she can.
by MaKayla Hansen
Carrie Cox is a new teacher at NS. She is a special education teacher that specifically teaches co-math. In her classes she supports all her IEP students.
“I give my students their additional help to make sure they are able to pass their classes and give them the extra time needed to do well in their math class,” Cox said. “I also struggled with math in high school. I remember what it’s like to struggle and then do well in math class and it helps me to be more patient with my students.”
Cox loves to help her students with math. She helps them when they need her help, and when they need to get caught up with their grades and their classes.
“Special education is my passion, it’s always where I’ve wanted to end up,” Cox said.
Cox is from Manti. She wanted to stay in Sanpete when she was looking for a job. She was originally looking for a job in elementary education. While she was finishing up her degree in elementary education and special education the special education position popped up at the high school and someone strongly encouraged her to apply. She tried it and so far she has loved it.
“I think the easiest way to motivate students is to let them know that their effort matters and then they’re not so worried whether or not they get it on their first try or the second try but knowing that they’ll have encouragement and support at every step even if it’s still hard for them,” Cox said.
Cox is a single mom. She has a little four-year-old girl named Emma. When Cox isn’t teaching, she loves spending time with her daughter.
“Outside of school I try my best to make sure my daughter gets quality time with me while I’m with her,” Cox said.
She has been working in special education for six years, but this is her first time being a teacher.
“It’s pretty inspiring to realize that this is going to be the hardest part of your career to know that you are learning more than when you go into things and that you have this whole career in front of you where you can help students and inspire them,” Cox said. “Sometimes it feels like you’re drinking out of a fire hose. There’s just a lot to take in but it’s really encouraging.”
For Cox being a new teacher is hard and there was a lot to take in when she first started. But as Cox goes on, she’s gotten used to it and loves she’s doing.
“No matter what happens I have people surrounding me that are a team. I always know who to go to if I have questions and I always have someone who has my back if I need help with something,” Cox said.
