Today we’d like to introduce you to CORY JONES.
Hi CORY, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Cory Jones. I am an educator. My work is centered around making Christian education accessible for low and middle income families.
I was born in Memphis, Tennessee May 23, 1989. My mother was a working woman with only a high school diploma. My father was a man of the streets. We lived in Foote Homes, a South Memphis project housing community notorious for gang violence, drugs, and prostitution. My Father was convicted of murder when I was a small child. He was in prison for so long that I forgot what he looked like.
My Mother sent me to a local private school. It was a small school. However, my mother would have difficulty paying for private school as a single parent. She would pull me out in the 4th grade and send me to public school. Back then, elementary education was K-6. I remember changing as a kid during that season of my life. I was confronted by gang culture and conformed. My mothers inability to pay for a education experience that was aligned with our values seperated me from an envirment where I thrived and felt safe. I went from learning about God’s creation to being overly concerned with what I was wearing, avoiding bullies, and pretending to be something no child should aspire to be.
I am married to my wife, Dominique. While we do not have any biological children yet, we enjoy participating in the Lord’s work of the development and discipleship of youth. I have two degrees in psychology, an associates degree and a bachelor’s degree–the remnants of a former aspiration of becoming a child psychiatrist. It would be while pursuing my bachelor’s degree, I would discover what I consider my true calling as an educator. I had previous experience while working at the YMCA as a Youth Advisor where I would teach life skills in partnering schools. Wherever I went, I always tried to make sure children felt safe and confident.
I want to see people become successful through education, not inspite of it, which seems to be the growing theme of Memphis. This desire would lead me to apply to the Memphis Teacher Residency, where I would earn my master’s degree in urban education in one year. Though my father would be diagnosed and die of an aggressive form of lung cancer during that time, I would finish as the 2020 Resident of the Year. I would teach public school for five years before being encouraged to apply to the Drexel Fund, a school founders program that would act as a catalyst to help me found a school, Heirs International Christian Academy. Heirs is a K-5 private Christian STEM school that aims to provide affordable Christ-centered education for middle and low-income families.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This has not been a smooth road. One of the struggles is finding people the get the vision and want to support the work. When you look at Memphis, you see a lot of support around St. Jude, the YMCA, Youth Villages, and other institutions that were founded on biblical principles or helping children. The hardest pill to swallow is that though there is a clear and visible need for Christ-centered education institutions to exist in low-inccome communities, many people aren’t as eager to support new institutions like Heirs. People want you to prove your worth and then come along side and support whats working. So, in a way, we are trying to earn our keep, and we will!
When many people think or private Chrsitian schools, they often think of majority rich, white, elitist institutions. While history supports this claim, we are doing something new. Unlike many other private school in Memphis, we are not supported by a community with deep pockets or a church. We’re just a small group of people asking the Memphis community to support us in making Christ-centered education accessible, to rewrite the history of Christian education in the South, and give children like those in Binghampton, South Memphis, and Berclair a rigorous values-based education experience that isn’t currently being offered in public school.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am the Founder and Head of Schools for Heirs International Christian Academy. I have about 15 years of combined experience in youth ministry, youth developement, curriculum developement, and teaching.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Mentors
David Hill of David Hill Consulting for believing in me and being a valuable thought partner.
Lionel Cable for mentoring me through the process of becoming a head of school and thinking like a leader.
Trustees
Cerita Butler for seeing the vision of what Heirs can be and hanging in there when things looked impossible.
Renata Henderson for guidance and resources.
Amber McKeehen for supporting us with her time and talents
Co-Founder
Neven Holland helping me shape the vision and not giving up.
Family
Godparents – Maurice & Julia Henderson for giving me the experience of sonship on which the school is founded.
Wife – Dominique Jones for supporting me while I follow this calling.
And everyone else that prayed, gave, and took my calls at weird hours to see Heirs International Christian Academy come to life. Thank you for your sacrifice.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heirsinternational.org
- Instagram: heirsinternational
- Facebook: heirsinternational
