From UNCG Student to Fourth-Grade Teacher
Malcolm Jones, an Elementary Education student in the Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education, has been named the 2026 UNCG Student Teacher of the Year. Jones completed his student teaching in a fourth-grade classroom at Caleb’s Creek Elementary School in Kernersville.
Jones has been named a finalist in the state’s Student Teacher of the Year competition sponsored by the North Carolina Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NCACTE). The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Raleigh on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
As the oldest of 11 children in Wilson, N.C., Jones quickly learned responsibility and leadership. He feels that he also realized that he needed to be patient and flexible while connecting with siblings that spanned a wide age range.
He credits his journey into teaching to his second-grade teacher. He said, “She truly poured into me, made me feel seen, valued, and capable, and helped me believe in myself in ways I did not fully understand at the time. Her influence planted a seed in me that would eventually grow into a passion for teaching and a desire to have that same kind of impact on the lives of students.”
Jones chose to attend UNCG, in part, because of the reputation and strength of the School of Education. UNCG provided a sense of community as well as the chance to grow both as an individual, but as a future teacher.
He said, “From my first visit, UNCG felt like a place where I could be challenged, supported, and equipped to become the educator I wanted to be. My time here has stretched me in the best ways through coursework, leadership opportunities, and especially through student teaching.”
Having earned his degree, Jones is ready to take on the challenge of leading his own classroom. He will be able to do so as a fourth-grade teacher at Balfour Elementary School with Asheboro City Schools.
Jones said, “I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to step into this next season and begin building a classroom where students feel seen, challenged, supported, and inspired to believe in their potential. It is exciting to think that just as one teacher helped shape my story, I now get the opportunity to help shape the stories of my own students.”
This story was originally posted in May of 2026 and was updated on September 14, 2026 to reflect that Jones was named a finalist for the award.
