Ms. Dawn Jones is the former Choral Director/General Music Teacher at the Thomas G. Pullen K-8 Creative and Performing Arts Academy, located in in Landover, Maryland, where her students received exemplary honors at the county, state, and national levels. In January 2012, a group of her choral students were invited to perform with Common, an internationally-known hip-hop vocalist, during the award-winning Black Entertainment Television (BET) Honors. At this event, the choir performed the opening song for the recipient of the Education Award. This was an historic occasion, as the First Lady, Michelle Obama, was in attendance.
Based on the choirs' exemplary level of performance, Ms. Jones' students displayed their talent with the Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) premiere project, at Carnegie Hall. Other appearances included the Kronos Quartet, and multi-Grammy Award winner and trumpeter, Wallace Roney.
Ms. Jones has the distinct pleasure of being recognized as a Mentor Teacher. Under this title, she is able to share "best practices" to enhance music programs for student teacher, new teachers, and seasoned teachers.Ms. Jones is a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. She attended The Catholic University of America on a four-year scholarship, where she obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education.
Upon graduation, she taught music in the public and private sectors, in grades K-8 for five years. Afterwards, she organized, operated, and served as an Administrator, at a private school for seven years, for grades PreK-6. Thereafter, Ms. Jones worked for two years, as the Coordinating Supervisor for a cultural immersion program of fledgling youth, where she also obtained positions as Journalist and Television News Anchor Person. Returning to the United States, Ms. Jones was hired as a studio technician at News Channel 8. After this short break from the classroom, she became a music teacher for the Prince George's County Public School system. Since resuming her teaching career, she has obtained her Master's degree from Trinity University in Washington, DC, in Administration Supervision, and is currently taking Doctoral courses.