10/01/2026
The woman that holds us all together!! 💙💛💙💛
💙💚 Secretary Spotlight: Felicia Jones | Pesson Elementary
I normally begin these interviews by asking the secretary what she loves most about her job.
At Pesson Elementary, I barely got the question out before one of Felicia Jones' coworkers answered it for her.
“She loves people. She's caring, compassionate, and she loves to solve problems.”
Felicia laughed, but after spending an hour in the office with her, I realized her coworker had pretty much nailed it.
In that single hour, I watched Mrs. Jones give bandages, handle bookkeeping, answer questions, help parents, take care of students, solve problems, keep the peace, and somehow remain calm, patient, and genuinely sweet to every person who needed her attention.
Apparently, she's also the office DoorDash concierge, mother hen, gatekeeper, springboard, peacekeeper, good listener, and candy dispenser when the staff needs a quick pick-me-up.
And that's just the list we came up with during the interview.
After 11 years with IPSD, Pesson isn't simply where Felicia works.
It's home.
Her mother taught here. Her sister taught here. And now Felicia has built her own chapter within the same school and the same family.
That “mother hen” role extends to her students, too. Felicia loves them deeply, but she isn't afraid to be stern when they need it because, as she explained, she wants them to grow into great people.
Of course, sometimes being the school mom also means navigating a medical mystery.
One particularly determined student was ready to go home and arrived with a rapidly evolving list of symptoms.
First, their head hurt.
Then their leg.
Then...
their eyebrows hurt.
At that point, even Mrs. Jones' extensive unofficial school-nurse experience had reached its limits. 😂
She called Mom and sent the student home, because while everyone involved had a pretty good idea that this patient was going to make a miraculous recovery upon leaving campus, Felicia wasn't about to dismiss a child who said they weren't feeling well.
We'll leave the final diagnosis to the more seasoned medical professionals.
Felicia credits Principal Ursula Batiste, whom she has known since they attended school together, as an influence in her own work. She admires the patience and calm Mrs. Batiste brings to difficult situations—qualities I couldn't help but notice in Felicia herself.
And although the end of the school day brings the satisfaction of “a job well done,” apparently that doesn't always mean Felicia actually stays away.
She admitted she occasionally sneaks back in on the weekends just to get some work done.
When she does leave Pesson alone, you'll often find her at church with her husband, who is a pastor.
Or shopping.
Because balance.
But of everything Felicia shared with me, I think her advice to students explains her approach to this job best:
“We are all brothers and sisters, and we need to care for each other.”
At Pesson, she's surrounded by generations of her own family's history and a school family she's built over 11 years.
And after watching the number of people who stopped by her desk, joked with her, leaned on her, and very clearly loved her during our short time together, I'd say the feeling is mutual.
Even when your eyebrows hurt.
