ORLANDO, Fla. — For A+ Teacher Naomi Joy Nelson, there’s no place like her classroom.
Nelson is the first female band director in her school’s history and she knows all too well what her students at Jones High School are capable of achieving — and that’s excellence.
What You Need To Know
- Naomi Joy Nelson is the band director at Jones High School in Orlando
- She says working at the high school is a return home for her since she was a drum major there
- Nelson loves not only loves music and teaching, but she is also a musician
- Here’s how you can nominate an A+ Teacher
“I’m just a woman who loves music and I’m a musician. While it’s an honor to be the first here. I’m from here, so this is a return to home for me,” she said. “I was a drum major here at Jones High School, so I am alumni of the program and studying under my previous band director, Mr. Rufus Redding. That was my dream as a kid to be a band director just like him.”
Nelson can relate to the students she is teaching because she was once in their shoes.
“Leading the band as a drum major, the SGA President, the Spanish Club President, the Fellowship for Christian Athletes President. So I was able to just live out my dreams, share my faith and my love for music.”
Nelson graduated from Jones High School, earned an academic scholarship and attended Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.
She said, “I initially went there trying to study journalism, then I switched back to music, which is my first love.”
That love of music beats strong even in her off time.
“Well, I love music, so I’m a performing artist and I love to perform and play music,” she said.
It is a love of music she’s now passing on to each of her students.
“I have a spirit of excellence. That’s certainly something that I learned here from Jones High School from this amazing institution, this amazing band program. As well as Florida A&M, being in the Marching 100, and I want these students to emulate that same spirit with musicianship, academic excellence and certainly leadership.”