Her Story
Camille Jones did not always find math easy, and says that is why she became a teacher: she discovered that the right guidance could turn confusion into clarity, and she wanted to be that guidance for others. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College in 2000, a master’s from Georgia State University in 2003, and a doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2011, where her research looked at computer gaming and multiplication fluency. She is a National Board Certified Teacher in adolescent and young adult mathematics, certified in 2005.
She began teaching high school in Atlanta Public Schools, and at the Carver School of Performing Arts she was math department chair. In 2005 her Geometry class had the district’s highest end-of-course scores, the superintendent visited her classroom, and she was named Teacher of the Year in 2006 and 2007. For about 13 years she has taught at the Ron Clark Academy, a private nonprofit middle school in Atlanta, where she is mathematics department chair and has served as director of curriculum and instruction. About 40,000 educators a year visit the school to watch her teach.
Beyond the Classroom
Her “Math Esteem” program targets students who say they are “not good at math” by tying lessons to things they love, including popular dances, movies, songs and storytelling. A student she coached through tutorials joined classmates on a video about a math concept, and the team won the national MATHCOUNTS Video Challenge, the first school from Georgia to do so. Her students have won the national video challenge repeatedly, and she has been a MATHCOUNTS board member. An educational math rap song she appeared in, produced with Old Navy and I Am Other, has been viewed more than 1.8 million times.
She received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in 2015 and was named a White House honored guest several times, was Mathematician of the Year from Women in Technology in 2021, and appeared in Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40. She co-led two national online conferences for math educators that trained over 6,000 teachers, trained more than 20,000 educators in online teaching during the pandemic, produced training videos for Teach for America and Texas Instruments, and spoke at BETT in London and ISTE. Her yearly “Mall Math Marathon” sends 7th graders and parent chaperones to a mall to solve consumer math problems.
Philosophy Into Practice
Jones uses popular line dances to teach transformations, math commercials to teach logic, and student-written songs to teach the quadratic formula. She runs a classroom economy of “Scholar Dollars,” a house system with a rewards store, and math superhero capes for small wins. At Ron Clark Academy she built a program that lets 7th and 8th graders take high school Algebra I and Geometry, differentiating by learning style rather than ability. She works with Meta on virtual reality lessons so students can explore graphing systems of equations and the distance formula in three dimensions.
When 7th and 8th graders struggled to explain why factoring worked, she stopped and brought out color-coded algebra tiles so students could build the quadratics with their hands. She checks understanding with exit tickets, think-pair-share and quick polls, and has students use diagnostic data to set their own goals.
“Teaching is more than a profession; it is a calling shaped by my own journey and the transformative power of education.”Dr. Valerie Camille Jones Ford
In Her Own Words
“This experience reflects a core belief of mine: teaching is about creating access points.”Dr. Valerie Camille Jones Ford
“My best advice to a first-year teacher is to focus on relationships before anything else.”Dr. Valerie Camille Jones Ford
“When students know you care about them, they are more willing to engage, take risks, and trust you as their guide.”Dr. Valerie Camille Jones Ford
What Others Said
“Dr. Jones makes mathematics come alive in ways that few educators can.”Kim Bearden, co-founder and executive director, Ron Clark Academy
“Dr. Jones is a rare and extraordinary educator whose impact transcends the classroom.”Dr. Aleli Vazquez, dean of faculty, Ron Clark Academy
“Dr. Valerie Camille Jones is the most impactful, innovative, dedicated, and relational educator I have encountered in my educational journey.”Zyan Wynn, former student and current colleague
“She is a powerhouse of innovation, compassion, and dedication.”The Haskins family, colleague, students and parents