In her role as the 10th-grade English instructor at Elmore County High School, Mary (Lawless) Jones, an alumna of Faulkner, openly expresses her faith, prompting students to approach her for prayer and participate in praise and worship sessions.
Jones is currently in her 12th year in education. She taught 9th grade English for 10 years in Elmore County before transitioning two years ago to be the 10th grade teacher two years ago. She also taught the Yearbook class for the past ten years and continues to sponsor Key Club, a community service club and First Priority, a student-led praise and worship club.
“I love my job because it is my mission field,” Jones said. “We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and I truly feel that I am doing His work with the job He has granted me to do… Even though Faulkner is a private university, I took to heart many of its practices. In my class, we pray often (students will ask for it). If a student needs to talk, we talk. I firmly believe in relationships before rigor. Students will work hard when they know they are cared for by you. I have never felt like my faith would jeopardize my job as a teacher in public school. Even if it did, it would be worth it, and I know that God would provide.”
Jones graduated from Faulkner with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language Arts in Secondary education and later with a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in English Language Arts. She returned to Faulkner’s campus to be honored as the Distinguished Alumna for English, Humanities, Music, Great Books Honors during the 2024 Marketplace Faith Friday Forums.
During her time at Faulkner from 2008-2012, she was a member of Sigma Tau Delta, The International English Honor Society. From 2008 to 2010, she was a member of the Tri-Alpha (AAA) social club and in 2010, she began dating her future husband, Justin Jones. He played baseball for Faulkner, and she never missed a home game during the 2011 and 2012 baseball seasons. She spent a lot of time doing practicum hours at schools in the tri-county area, and her love for education only grew from her time at Faulkner.
“I had an amazing time and experience at Faulkner,” Jones said. “My English professors truly made me love literature more than I already did. My education professors had me well prepared to walk into the classroom. I immediately had a job upon graduation.”
She finished her internship in the fall of 2012 and then completed the academic year in Coosa County at Central Middle School. After that, she was blessed to return to Elmore County High School (ECHS), where she had worked as an intern. In 2018, Jones began Faulkner’s online program to pursue a graduate degree and graduated fourteen months later in July of 2019.
Jones received the Teacher of the Year award at ECHS for the 2017-2018 academic year, and she received the WSFA Class Act Award in October 2023. Her husband teaches and coaches at Edgewood Academy. The couple have been together for fourteen years and have been married for over eleven years. They have three beautiful children – Sadie, Easton, and Emersyn.
