Zhaci Jones
Elementary school teachers often play a part in molding their students into teenagers and, eventually, adults. For Carver-Lyon Elementary School first-grade teacher Zhaci Jones, the process of molding her students is why she enjoys working in elementary school.
Jones, who is Richland One’s 2025- 2026 Teacher of the Year, has always had a passion for working with children. Growing up in Lancaster, she enjoyed pretending to be a teacher.
“I used to play teacher with baby dolls or get my cousins and sister to sit down so I could be the teacher,” said Jones.
After graduating from Coastal Carolina University, Jones joined Richland One in 2018 as a first-grade teacher at Hyatt Park Elementary School. Four years later, she became a first-grade teacher at Carver-Lyon.
Jones says she enjoys teaching first grade because the students are in a phase where they still need help, but they’re learning to do things independently.
“With the students transitioning and becoming older, they realize there’s only one of me and so many of them. I need them to solve problems and be independent until I can get around to them. The first-grade students are able to understand that better than kindergarten or pre-K students would,” she said.
Jones says she wants her 26 students to take charge of their learning by the end of the school year. One way she does that is by teaching her students this phrase: “I can and I will.”
“The students like to say ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘I don’t know how to do this.’ I ask them, ‘Do I like those words?’ They’re like ‘No.’ I tell them to say, ‘I can and I will.’ It reinforces to the students that I’m asking them to do this because I know they can,” said Jones.
The relationships she builds with her young students come into play when Jones is having a bad day.
“The students can sense when you’re having a bad day. I’ll come and give them a hug, and then, instantly, everything is fine,” said Jones.
She says she enjoys when parents tell her how much their children look up to her. The students would often come home and share with their parents what Jones said or did during the day. Sometimes, her students would even get into similar interests to hers.
“I have a thing for Stitch [from Lilo & Stitch]. My room is normally full of Stitch stuff I’ve accumulated over the years. By the end of the school year, all my students like Stitch,” said Jones.
She says her dream is to one day open her own learning academy and make an even bigger difference in the lives of young students. Even though Jones is a first-grade teacher, she says she understands the importance of kindergarten readiness.
“There are some first-graders who don’t know how to recognize their name or know the letters in their name. I would love to have a hand in that process,” said Jones.
She says she’s looking forward to getting to know her new class this school year and seeing how she can reach them.
“Every class is different. I have to adapt every year to see what works and what doesn’t. I’m excited to see how the students’ minds work,” said Jones.
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