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Welcome to my page! My name is Erica Jones. I am the current Director for our Voluntary Pre-K Program. I also teach Pre-K in the classroom. 

Our program serves children who qualify under Tennessee state guidelines and will be four years old by August 15th of the school year. 

If interested, please complete and submit a universal Pre-K application and income verification form and submit the completed forms with supporting income docs (options listed on the form) quickly as our spots fill up.

We still have available seats for income-qualified students to finish up the 2025-2026 school year with us, if interested. We are also accepting applications for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year as well.

About our program:

The Voluntary Pre-K program teaches the Tennessee Early Learning Developmental Standards using Kaplan's Connect 4 Learning curriculum to instruct and state-approved sounds' first supplemental materials to inform literacy instruction.

Our program hours are from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. daily, and parents must sign in and sign out their child daily. We follow the Newport Grammar School's calendar. There isn't a fee or tuition for qualified students, as this is a state-funded program.

About me:

My teaching-related education includes a Master of Science (M.S.) in teacher education earned in 2014 with a concentration in elementary education and an Education Specialist (EdS) degree with studies focused in educational technology in 2026 both from the University of Tennessee. I was blessed to learn as part of an urban multicultural program and take additional graduate coursework for an add-on license in early childhood special education for children ages birth to age eight. During this journey, I presented my pilot research during my furthered graduate studies at Middle Tennessee State University at the Southeastern STEM Education Research Conference. I have also served as a graduate research assistant and designer, working on coding and creating grant-funded training modules for the University of Tennessee to contribute to the TRAIN platform.

I have worked with children in many roles over the years, from volunteering at multiple local vacation Bible schools (VBS) to working with children in orphanages and schools in Africa while serving as a Marine to volunteering as a camp counselor in California for the local MDA Camps (Muscular Dystrophy Association) to assisting special needs children at reprieve camps aboard Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. I have enjoyed all the experiences I have been afforded. 

I am originally from a small town in Southern Mississippi. I have also lived in California and North Carolina and spent time overseas. However, I have called East Tennessee my home for some time now. I have two bubbly and handsome boys who are warriors for life and whom I love spending time with. I enjoy hiking and have loved leading our school's hiking club for middle schoolers and their parents for years in the past. I am a proud Marine Corps veteran, and I am a die-hard VOL for life.

While caring for two children, attending grad school full-time, working my full-time teaching job, serving as a graduate assistant, and teaching graduate-level courses for UT, I can relate to how wild and crazy life can sometimes be. 

Feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance.

Erica Jones

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