Elementary school teachers often play a part in molding their students into teenagers and, eventually, adults. For Carver-Lyon Elementary School firstgrade 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
