When West Sedona School closed its campus after Spring Break in March, it wasn’t the first school closure first-grade teacher Kim Jackson had dealt with.

Originally from Mississippi, Jackson received her bachelor and master’s degrees in early childhood education from Northern Arizona University before she started teaching kindergarten through second grade at Big Park Community School in 1997.

When Big Park closed in 2018, she moved to West Sedona School to teach first grade and now adds a 2020 Sedona Red Rocks Rotary Teacher of the Year plaque for West Sedona to go along with the one she received in 2007 as a Big Park teacher.

The $500 award is a welcomed bonus, too.

West Sedona attendance secretary Amanda Stanfield wrote an essay nominating Jackson for this year’s award.

“Mrs. Jackson cares deeply for her students, school and profession,” Stanfield wrote. “After a difficult school closure and merge, she has quickly become one of the most respected faces on campus. She is incredibly dedicated and is always a kind and positive voice.”

It’s not too surprising that Jackson has been a Teacher of the Year twice in her 23 years of teaching, as being dedicated to her craft comes naturally to her.

“I love my job,” Jackson said. “It is an honor to work in partnership with my students and their families.”

The hardest part of the COVID-19 shutdown for Jackson was that she wasn’t able to see her students’ smiling faces in class every day.

“I can’t wait to be back in the classroom with the students,” she said. “I most look forward to just being together in our classroom community. I look forward to smiling faces and funny stories. I look forward to being with the students to target each student’s individual learning needs.”

This closure was challenging, Jackson said, but she adjusted to the drastic change quickly.

“My goal was to try to find balance between continuing to provide a meaningful educational experience utilizing technology and traditional schoolwork while trying not to overwhelm parents at this stressful time,” she said.

One of Jackson’s favorite parts of being a first-grade teacher is teaching early literacy.

“It is so exciting to be a part of helping young children learn to read and write,” she said. “First graders are enthusiastic, eager learners and it is my privilege to spend my days with these students.”

Stanfield wrote in her nomination letter that Jackson makes reading fun and instills a love of books in her students. This year’s Read Across America Day was an event that exemplified this, she said.

“Mrs. Jackson invited parents, firemen and other community volunteers into her classroom to read Dr. Seuss books,” she wrote of the literacy celebration, which is held every March nationally for Dr. Seuss’ birthday. “The highlight of the day for many was a homemade lunch of green eggs and ham.”

Other fun activities in Jackson’s classroom, many hands-on, keep the kids actively engaged in learning, Stanfield said. With the Mystery Bag game, every week, a student brings a mystery item from home, describes it to the class and answers questions until a student guesses the item.

“It’s a fun game, but students are also building language skills, presentation skills and confidence,” Stanfield wrote. “The Leader Project allows each student to be a leader in the classroom for an entire week. This is another way Mrs. Jackson helps her students gain confidence and build a sense of community.”

However, Jackson knows that fun and effective learning can only be had after the proper tone is set in the classroom.

Her advice for new elementary school teachers is to “take the time at the beginning of the year to develop a classroom community of mutual respect and an environment where students feel safe to take risks and fully participate in the learning process.”

Jackson said she is honored to receive a 2020 Teacher of the Year award.

“I work alongside amazing teachers at West Sedona School who go above and beyond the call of duty in educating and caring for their students,” she said. “It is a great feeling to have groups like the Sedona Red Rocks Rotary Club take time and make it a priority to acknowledge the work we do as teachers.”