Meet Rachel Jones | Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachel Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Off and on throughout my life I have started small business ventures, but by the time I found myself teaching high school and loving the children, I only saw the need to continue serving our youth well. It took me about 7 years to truly see that the public educational system wasn’t designed for our Black and Brown youth to thrive, and I left my beloved profession because MORALLY I couldn’t continue to commit. When I left, I brought my own children out of public schools and soon learned that homeschooling actually provided the freedom to educate my own as well as the freedom of time to uncover what gifts I had. My gift? EDUCATION! I eventually learned the freedom to educate my own and encourage other Black and Brown parents to homeschool while I would provide excellent, Christ and Afro-centered educational support through Anna Julia Cooper Educational Services DBA The Coolnerds. With our educational model, we could push reading, critical thinking, the “basics” which include map reading, travel, gardening, leadership development, internships, entrepreneurship, manhood, womanhood, maturity, and MORE! With very little money and almost no plan, God had a vision that put my thought process to shame! We have graduated over 25 people (youth and even some parents!) who have ventured into their futures with zero to little debt, some graduated high school as early as 14, while some went on to other programs with a clearer sense of self which helped them thrive, and we have even seen marriages improve because of the growth in the children! This business is a blessing and we hope to continue doing this HEART work for years to come!

What should our readers know about your business?
What sets us apart is our integrity. I am a huge believer in doing what you say. If customers are paying for a service from our business, we will provide exactly what we said and more! We do this by regularly asking students and parents how we can improve. We know we cannot please everyone all the time, but we work as closely as we can with families to follow through on our end. As a result, we have many successfully stories that we are very proud of! However, there are those cases where families cover secrets, don’t want to be held accountable, and even sadder won’t commit to doing their part to educate or properly raise their child. We have had some families who we had to let go as a result. These kinds of decisions are hard and very difficult emotionally at times. However, even though we are committed to this HEART work, it is still a business and we honor our own policies in order to maintain structure across the board. Our story is an incredible one, with many youth thriving because they were “counted out” by the larger system, but found ways to successfully navigate freedom. Because we only operate on tuition, we are not necessarily “six figure chicks” but we are making a huge, consistent image and that is worth its weight in gold!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’d start at my house! My husband is a DJ and we love throwing events and I love cooking! Great music, talking, food, our lovely backyard garden to inspire ideas. We’d head downtown Memphis to Mud Island with our blankets and coolers to listen to live music or maybe we’d head to the Brinson’s, a cool Black owned spot, for some live reggae! We’d visit farmer’s markets, international grocery stores, plan more meals, visit Black owned spots such a Sage and Mahogany. We would also visit Mr. Allen who runs an excellent, Black owned kayaking service so we can kayak down the Mississippi River. Biking riding along the trails at Shelby Farms and stopping to pick up herbs that grow alongside the trails, specifically mullein and I’d be sure to send my friend home with some healing tools! The most interesting things are the things, people, and stories you can’t plan for, but life is always an adventure to explore!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First of all, I want to thank God! He placed this vision in me and He has provided some excellent resources to work this vision! My husband, Dustin Jones, is my biggest supporter, encourager, financier, and friend! He listens to my ideas and tries his best to keep a smile on the faces of our students by making many of my ideas come to life! Our kids, my family and his family are also so supportive of this journey! Then there’s my educators, specially Candous Brown (google her! She is dope!) who is passionately and enthusiastically ALL in this journey alongside me! Our amazing math educator Cristiana Bonds has helped so many young people overcome their fear of math with all of her joy and enthusiasm! And she’s only 23 with students already sharing just how impactful she is in their lives! My lovely friends Tiffany Daniels and Tequilla Daniels who gave me the most amazing business strategies that helped take the fear out of my planning! And lastly, I want to shout out our amazing parents and students! We would have no educational service if they did not trust us to walk alongside their families in this amazing journey!

Website: www.thecoolnerds.org

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