Throughout her career, Jahana Hayes has been honored time and time again for her unwavering dedication to her students inside and outside the classroom – a commitment Hayes inherited from the teachers who saw in her the potential to overcome the abject poverty that surrounded her childhood.
“Teachers exposed me to a different world by letting me borrow books to read at home and sharing stories about their college experiences. So many things that [teachers do] fall outside of traditional teaching responsibilities. It is those times when I am transformed into an advisor, counselor, confidant and protector.”
– Jahana Hayes, 2016 National Teacher of the Year
