Allow me to introduce myself......I am Joy Jackson.

A little about myself.... I was born in Marietta, GA many years ago. Even though I don't remember it, I witnessed Martin Luther King, Jr.'s funeral procession in 1968. Shortly after, my family and I moved to a farm in Alabama where I lived until I moved back to Georgia in 2000. The farm was a working cattle and chicken farm. I learned many valuable lessons working on the farm growing up. Yes, I worked on the farm from the time that I was able to see over the steering wheel of the tractor. I feel very fortunate to have grown up on that farm, but as most children do, I could hardly wait to move away from the chickens and the cows. 

I attended college at the University of Alabama - Birmingham graduating with a dual Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education in 1996. After teaching for 10 years in both elementary and middle school, I decided to enroll at Central Michigan University. I graduated in 2011 with two Master's degrees. The first is in Curriculum and the second is in Adult Education. 

This is my 25th year of teaching. I have taught in three countries (United States, United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia), two states (Georgia and Alabama), and eight schools. One thing that I learned teaching in all these different places is that kids are kids no matter where they are in this world.