Say Hello to Ms. Crawley-Harrison

By Eric Goodwin

As the high school study hall period begins, students pull out assignments to work on, get on their phones, or talk to their peers.

The teacher, Ms. Jackie Crawley-Harrison, has just finished giving a lesson in Personal Finance on the importance of knowing where your money is at all times.

“This is my third week, and I’m kind of getting in the flow,” she says across her desk over the chatter of nearby Central Magnet high-schoolers.

A former keyboarding and computer software teacher at Christiana Middle School, Ms. Crawley-Harrison is beginning to get acquainted with the new setting. She says that one of the nicest parts about her new job is that “the kids here are more driven … they seem like they’re excited about learning and new challenges, so that’s a good thing.”

Ms. Crawley-Harrison teaches Personal Finance as well as Accounting I and II. The job suits her, given her degree in business education.

The opportunity to teach her own skill set, Ms. Crawley-Harrison says, “has really been the most rewarding”.

When it comes to activities outside of teaching, Ms. Crawley-Harrison breaks the “teachers-have-no-lives” stereotype (as do most others). Friends and family are of great importance to her. And like many other people, Ms. Crawley-Harrison can always enjoy watching, following, and going to sports events. It’s no surprise that she likes the Chicago Bears and the Bulls, given that her high school years were spent in Illinois.

High school is where Ms. Crawley-Harrison says her greatest role models appeared in her life. She had two “real caring teachers” named Ms. Carter and Ms. Carr.

Her reasoning for them being so inspirational? “They kind of saw more potential in me than I did for myself”.

Perhaps role models such as these propelled Ms. Crawley Harrison to serve in the community often and have a humble attitude.

Aside from generally volunteering as much as she can, Ms. Crawley-Harrison works part-time at Kymari House, a nonprofit organization in downtown Murfreesboro which helps children maintain contact with their mothers or father when he or she does not have custody over that child.