District Substitute Begins New Chapter

Story & Photo by Bailee Council – Assistant Editor

  Through many lives, Rhonda Jones has lived many dreams that have led her to where she is currently. In her next chapter, she leaves to reunite with her family in Maryland and aspires to be an inspirational speaker. With dreams of starting a life coaching business, Jones also plans to write a book expressing her motos for the world. 

   Through the years, she’s worked her way up from elementary to high school.

   “I started out doing elementary because I was intimidated by high schoolers at first,” Jones said.

     For the past eight years, Jones has impacted students throughout the LSR7 district as a substitute teacher. The influence and love Jones shares with students had been unmatched, particularly in the Lee’s Summit North community. Jones also took on the long-term responsibility of being an ROTC substitute, reminding her of her time in the military. 

   However, when asked about her most memorable time in the military, Jones expressed, “My most memorable moment would be when I made my last rank as an E-6 because I was thinking about getting out…my “why” changed…North and being a long-term part of ROTC has prepared me for this next chapter,” said Jones. 

   Jones has proven to be a very transparent woman, and plenty of students and faculty would agree that she has become a universal safe space for the school. By learning her purpose and giving back to the people around her, Jones has left her mark on the LSN community. Moving forward, it is clear that Jones has many more people in the world to embrace her character

   “Being an inspirational speaker is not going to be a job for me, that’s going to be who I am…being a substitute teacher helped me grow into who I am,” Jones said. 

   As Jones says her final goodbyes to LSN, students throughout Lee’s Summit thank her for her time and contributions. Moving into this next chapter many are excited to see what is in store, and many take inspiration from Jones’s passion in what she does.

   “Put down the cell phone and create relationships with people because community and relationships are extremely important and love is the answer the everything,” Jones said.

   Her life motto, to create a whole new world with all the things you do not know, has gotten her through the years and will carry her through the next.