Never ‘Just a Job’: Moreland Grad Finds Purpose in Education
| by Hannah Sparling
Briefcase. Power suit. Fancy corporate job. That was the plan for Jazzmyne Townsend.
She went to Howard University and studied business and marketing. She graduated in 2009 and jumped — right into the Great Recession.
“Jobs were scarce. Nobody was hiring,” Townsend said. “The outlook was a little bleak for somebody who had just graduated from college.”
So her plans changed, and she took a job as a paraprofessional at a charter school in Washington, D.C. At first, it was just a way to pay the bills. But 16 years later, Townsend is a passionate educator who can’t picture herself doing anything else. In October, she was named the 2025 D.C. Teacher of the Year.
“Some people, they have a job and it’s just a job,” she said. “They have to get up every morning, and they dread going. I never felt like that. I was excited to see my students every day, to explore and investigate with them.”
Earning a Professional Teaching Certification
At first, Townsend was able to learn on the job, using skills from her bachelor’s degree and life in general to guide her work as a teacher. She credits a lot of her success to her colleagues and administrators, who poured into her as a new teacher and never hesitated to share ideas and best practices.
When she moved from the charter school to District of Columbia Public Schools, however, she needed to earn her professional teaching certification. She enrolled in Moreland University’s TEACH-NOW Teacher Preparation Certificate Program, and a little more than 9 months later, she was able to pass her certification exams and apply for her license.
“I was looking for something that was accessible, something that was affordable, something that met the qualifications for a D.C. license,” she said.
Townsend loved how, as part of Moreland’s global cohort model, she got to learn with educators from around the world. One of her classmates, Giselle, was a teacher in Turkey, and it was fascinating to see the differences as well as the many similarities in teaching in the U.S. versus Turkey.
“It opened my eyes to education from multiple lenses,” Townsend said,” and I think that was one of my greatest takeaways from the TEACH-NOW program.”
Townsend also enjoyed the clinical learning module, where she could try out different tools and strategies without feeling like she was thrown into the deep end.
“I felt like I was being supported at the same time I was learning,” she said. “At no point during the process did I feel like I was alone or had to just figure everything out on my own. Having that mentor teacher there to support and guide me through the clinical process really made a difference.”
‘Little Moments’ in Education
Townsend will never forget the time she and her preschoolers turned a giant cardboard box into an aquarium. The students painted the box inside and out, drawing fish of all different shapes and colors. They used cellophane wrap for the water, and when it was finished, they put the aquarium near the classroom library, where the children could climb inside and read.
Another time, during a lesson on nature, she made a paper mâché volcano with her class.
“I remember the kids being so excited to see it explode,” she said. “We don’t have to wait until they get to middle school or high school to allow them to explore like that. If you put it in front of them and give them the opportunity to explore, kids will show you how capable they are.”
This school year, Townsend met a young student who told her he didn’t like school because no one said good morning to him and no one liked him. She made it a point from that day forward to see him every morning, to say hello, and to give him a hug, handshake, or high five.
“I want you to know,” she said, “that somebody in this building loves you.”
Now, that same student walks into school with a completely different attitude, Townsend said. He smiles and holds his head high, taking the initiative to say good morning to other students.
On a recent afternoon, Townsend ran into him after school, and he told her he had a great day. When she asked why, he said it was because he got to see her.
“I was literally ready to break down,” she said. “It’s the little moments like that that make a difference.”
Building into the Future
On October 3, during a surprise ceremony featuring children’s books and xylophones, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser named Townsend the 2025 Teacher of the Year. It’s a moment Townsend will never forget. But it’s not her proudest moment in education. That comes when she looks back at all the students she’s taught.
She got to publish her own children’s book, “Hattie Leads the Way,” a re-imagining of Harriet Tubman’s story for young students.
She got to teach in classrooms, preschool through first grade, for 15 years. And this year, she’s the K-5 ELA Instructional Coach at Stanton Elementary School in D.C.
She’s bonded with students and families, some of whom she’s still in touch with many years later. Her first group of students, from her very first year as a paraprofessional, are now sophomores in college.
“I think about how far they have come, all the different cool and exciting things they’ve done, and I know that somewhere along the way, I played a small part in their success,” she said. “I poured into them, and now they are thriving.”
Growing up, this is not at all the future Townsend imagined for herself.
She never got her fancy corporate job.
She got something better.
Earn your professional teaching certification in as little as 9 months with Moreland University’s TEACH-NOW Teacher Preparation Certificate Program.
For District of Columbia Public Schools teachers and staff, in celebration of Townsend’s Teacher of the Year award, Moreland is offering a special $500 scholarship.
