In School Suspension paraprofessional Walter Jones is sitting in the Clarke Central High School ISS room. Jones helps the students in ISS with their math work. “Whatever assignment the teachers send for them to work on, I work on it with them,” Jones said. Photo by Julie Alpaugh
By KENNAE HUNTER – Staff Writer
In School Suspension paraprofessional Walter Jones discusses his youth, college years and the future.
Staff Writer Kennae Hunter: Where did you grow up?
In-School Suspension (ISS) paraprofessional Walter Jones: I grew up in the South Bronx of New York City. This something that I am very proud of because it was so hard to get by there. To have fun while growing up, you had to have friends and participate in the goings on that happened in your neighborhood. There were so many fights that you just knew that you were going to get hurt in some fashion every day, but you couldn’t hide from it. Each day was so satisfying when it was over that I looked forward to telling the stories to my friends.
KH: Where did you go to high school?
WJ: The Bronx High School of Science.
KH: Did you play sports in high school?
WJ: I ran track. Bronx Science was a magnet school and as such wasn’t known for its athletic programs. I, however, had been running track since the eighth grade (and) was already one of the fastest runners in the Bronx. During my three years at Bronx Science, I won more than half of the medals that were won by the whole team. Each year, I made sure that my school won one of the relay races in the Bronx Championships. Every member of those relay teams had something that stood out as exceptional on their resumes for college acceptance. Just being at Bronx Science was a big deal for college resumes, but winning in the Bronx Championships really made a difference.
KH: Where did you go to college?
WJ: Cornell University.
KH: How did you choose that college?
WJ: I had over 1320, out of 1600, on my SAT scores, so I was able to consider going to just about any college I wanted to go to. I was recruited by Columbia’s track coach and a former Bronx Science student, then at Cornell. The Ivy League doesn’t have athletic scholarships so I went to Cornell because of my friend’s invitation. My visit with him was what decided my college career. It was during the indoor Heptagonal Games, which is held at Cornell every winter. I stayed at a fraternity and partied all weekend. After that, I had to be a part of that event. I also got accepted at Columbia, City College New York and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. I could only apply to four colleges in those days.
KH: Did you continue with any sports in college?
WJ: I won the Long Jump event at both the indoor and outdoor Heptagonal games two times each. I won the Penn Relays event twice, the IC4A Championship four times and went to the National College championships four times among other victories.
KH: Tell me about your college experience?
WJ: I managed to graduate with a Chemical Engineering BS degree. During my four years at Cornell, I was failing all of the time and managed to get As on my finals each year to survive. I was able to train for Track and Field during the beginning of each semester until I started to fail everything, and then, I got out of shape just to pass my finals. I partied almost all of the time until I was desperate. I finished each semester way out of shape so that I was only able to compete at top notch in the long jump. When I was in shape in each semester, I would win in the sprints from the 60 yard up to the 600-yard races. When I was a freshman, there were one thousand engineers in my class. When I graduated Cornell, there were only 30 Chemical Engineers left. It was really hard to get through.
KH: What was life after college like?
WJ: The biggest problem I had to deal with was that I was to be drafted into the army during the Vietnam War. During my school years, I participated in quite a few protests against that war, but I was due to go in any way. It took me two years to get into the National Guard instead to avoid going to Vietnam. During that time, I joined IBM as a Systems Analyst. I ended up working for IBM for eleven years. The greatest achievement was being a lead architect on the team that developed the first manufacturing applications build to run on IBM mainframe computers. I left IBM and for years managed my own companies in both the computer and picture framing industries.
KH: Are you married? Do you have kids?
WJ: I got married in 1984 and have been married ever since. I have two daughters and one son.
KH: Have you moved around any?
WJ: I moved from New York to Atlanta while working for IBM. I moved to Colbert, Georgia to help further my youngest daughter’s education.
KH: How did you settle in Athens?
WJ: My youngest daughter was failing a science course in high school, so we moved to her failing the course. It was our last resort. It worked. She never failed a course and now works as a biotechnical engineer for a company that sells aquarium chemicals. She speaks French and travels to Canada, Switzerland and France for them in Marketing.
KH: What brought you to Clarke Central (High School)?
WJ: During the most recent economic depression, my company (and my finances) suffered some major reverses causing me to try education. Since I’m still very good at taking tests, I figured that passing the GACE tests would be enough to get certified as a mathematics teacher. I was partially correct in that I managed to achieve a non-renewable certificate which has since expired. Over the last seven years, I have worked as a substitute teacher and as a certified math teacher.
KH: How did your hometown shape you into who you are today?
WJ: I find that teenagers that act really tough all of the time and get into a lot of fights remind me of my friends back in the South Bronx. I felt very much at home when I worked at both the old Soar Academy High School and at Ombudsman Private School. Both of which are alternative schools. I want to help the students that come into ISS transition back into the mainstream without adding to any difficulties they might have fitting into the Clarke Central High School education environment. If I can find the time to tutor any students in either math, science or social studies, I would enjoy sharing the experience.
KH: Do you have any more plans for your future?
WJ: I am already a “Black Diamond” downhill skier, a scuba diver, a 200 average bowler. Now, I am struggling with attempting to improve my tennis game. Visiting my family in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas and England are the main goals of future.
KH: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
WJ: I plan to be right here helping students stay out of ISS.
