Carbondale Reporter

Jefferson County kindergarten teacher Denae Jones recently received praise for adapting her style of teaching to address the challenges of the now year-long pandemic while setting a positive example for her students, according to the latest edition of WSIL's "Unsung Hero" segment.

 Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Quincy) also praised Jones, expressing her gratitude to all teachers working through the pandemic.

"Thank you to all of our hardworking educators who have gone above and beyond throughout this pandemic," Bryant wrote in a Facebook post, "We appreciate you."

Jones, who has been teaching kindergarten at Doctor Nick Osborn Primary Center in Mount Vernon for 11 years, says this has been her most difficult year due to the pandemic, with many days leaving her in tears.

According to Jones, Kindergarten is about "making connections" and it was difficult to establish relationships with five-year-olds on the computer for the first eight weeks.

Despite these struggles, colleagues stated that the tackling challenges from teaching remotely were when Jones "shined the most," with Jones engaging her students by being loud, cheering, singing and dancing.

"She certainly has gone above and beyond and done so many things, as so many teachers have throughout this challenging year, and having to teach in ways that they never did before. But she certainly adapted and has done an amazing job," Principal Cindy Kessler told WSIL.

Jones' classes transitioned from fully remote to in-person classes in February; all 18 of her students are now back in the classroom, with the exception of one who is still in a remote class.