Teacher Appreciation Week: Jennifer Moore

LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Miss. - Jennifer Moore has been a teacher at Northeast Lauderdale High School for 15 years. Moore began her journey as a special needs teacher after working for an agency as a social worker and saw that it was her calling.

“I’ve always enjoyed that population of people. I worked alongside some phenomenal teachers and I started to admire what they were doing and how they were doing it and how they worked with so many different people," said Moore.

After the encouragement from her co-workers, she soon received a degree in education.

“It was a big transition," explained Moore. "My very first day, I remember crying because I left one job and came here the next day.”

After all the tears and years of dedicated service, Moore was awarded Teacher of the Year for the 2020-2021 school year. She says she is just one of many teachers who could have gotten the honor.

“I can’t tell you why they chose me for the award," she said. "It still seems unreal to me, but my goal everyday is to come to work and do the best of my ability.”

In doing that, Moore is able to teach and mentor nine students to be their best even when she is not around.

“They become like my own. It’s just like your own children. You get to know them, you try to help them deal with it and learn life skills and try to help move them forward in every way. Everything matters, it all works together," said Moore.