When Jamie Payton isn’t traveling or spending time with her family, she’s teaching at Fauquier High School (FHS). Payton is a new Special Education English teacher here at FHS. She began teaching here after being a substitute for four years. After working as a substitute for so long, she chose to start teaching in the same county she came from. “I wanted to teach here to give back to the community that I grew up in,” Payton said.
Before coming to FHS, she worked at Kettle Run High, Warrenton Middle School and Taylor Middle School. Payton stated that she “worked as a sub…[but she] wasn’t sitting at the desk and doing nothing…she tried to do something in class.” When substitutes are attentive to their classes, it benefits both the students and the substitute.
It was easier for Payton to transition into her first year of teaching because of how she previously taught. Though, for Payton, teaching isn’t just a job. Teaching changed the way she sees her life. “Being around [students] all day made me think about being a parent differently,” Payton expressed. By being an educator, people better understand the communities their children are growing up in. Different communities can often enforce harmful ideas, so teachers need to work to dissuade these ideas. With special needs children, these problems are exacerbated even further. “Typically these kids are told they’re not gonna do anything in life and I didn’t want that happening,” Payton said. It matters to her that “these kids know that they were special but not in a bad way.” Because of social ostracization, students in Special Education classes can often feel hopeless. Without teachers like Payton, kids can often grow up feeling unsure of their future. It’s important for her that students in Special Education classes have the help and resources necessary to succeed. It’s amazing that FHS has Payton and others like her to foster a more caring and healthy community for its students.
