January Employee of the Month

Our January employee of the month, Mari Jones,  has worked for the Fern Ridge School District for 30 years!  Most of this time was spent teaching at Elmira Elementary School.  Currently, she is the Title teacher for both Elmira and Veneta Elementary Schools.

Mrs. Jones is married to Skip who is a musician and performs at many local venues.  Their son, Kenny has  Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting with a minor in dance.  Their family enjoys sharing time together cooking, watching movies, playing games and music.  They especially love anything art related and attend plays, movies, music venues and concerts.  Mrs. Jones tells us that their favorite place to vacation is the beach.  She personally loves to read, spend time with family, research and learn (on just about any topic) bike and bird watch.  She does not like hot weather, getting up early, liver or wasting time.

She is a teacher who wears many hats in our district including serving as president of the Fern Ridge Education Association, she helps as the District Wellness Coordinator, has written many grants for us, and participates on several committees including; key communicators, every student succeeds, literacy and many many more.   She is a tireless advocate for students and teachers alike.  Her service, at so many different levels of the district,  demonstrates how dedicated she is to the field of education.

Mrs. Jones tells us that she enjoys sharing her knowledge with her peers.  “Fern Ridge has been so fulfilling for me as a professional.  The district leaders have supported me to grow and thrive as an educator and teacher leader.  I appreciates how rare that is when I talk to others.”  She also enjoys helping student become confident and competent learners who are good readers, writers, mathematicians, critical thinkers and problem solvers.

Thank you Mrs. Jones for your 30 years of service and for striving everyday to make an impact on the staff and students of our district!