Jameelah Jones ’22, who earned a bachelor’s in PreK-4 Education through Arcadia University’s School of Education’s Working Professionals Program, was recently featured in the Pennsylvania Child Care Association’s Voices From The Field series. Voices From The Field shares the stories of teachers who have benefited from the T.E.A.C.H. (Teacher Education And Compensation Helps) Early Childhood® Pennsylvania Scholarship Program. 

While Jones had always wanted to be a teacher, she noted that the road was difficult. She started with a job at the Parent Infant Center (PIC) in Philadelphia while pursuing an associate’s degree at Community College of Philadelphia (CCP). A cancer diagnosis, though, halted her work and education. By the time she returned to PIC, she learned that her position required an associate’s degree. 

Jones resumed night classes at CCP but didn’t want to come home late to her teenage daughters. That’s when she learned about the T.E.A.C.H. scholarship, which helped put her on an accelerated track to earn her associate’s degree. Receiving the degree in 2019 paved the way for her arrival at Arcadia.

Today, Jones is a lead teacher of a preschool classroom, and both her daughters are enrolled in college.

“I’m 55 years old, a breast cancer survivor, a first-generation college student who has achieved her bachelor’s and now I’m working toward a Teaching Certificate,” said Jones. “I’ve done more than I thought possible, and I believe there is even more to come.”