Golden Apple Award: Jonathan Parson, Heritage High School

RINGGOLD, GA (WDEF) – Teaching one lesson plan at a time is hard enough. Juggling multiple curriculums takes a truly exceptional educator. That describes Heritage High School’s Jonathan Parson. We spent a little time in his classroom for this week’s Golden Apple Award.

Matt Phillips is the Principal at Heritage High.

He says, ” Mr. Parson is an excellent employee, a fantastic teacher, but I would say an even better person. He does great work,
always calm cool and collected no matter what the situation. It’s very clear from working with him on a daily basis, that
his heart is for kids, and that’s the kind of person we like Heritage High School.”

We asked Mr. Parson to describe himself.

He replied, “That is me. That is a teacher here at Heritage High School. I’ve got three beautiful kids. My wife, she is a nurse over here in
Ringgold. We both work in jobs that give back to the community. And that’s what we believe in. So, and I like to
instill that in my children, and hopefully they turn out to be providers and givers back to the
community. I love making an impact on these students lives in the positive way, and that’s what I look
forward to most every day. It’s rewarding every single day. I get to see a smile on their face and the positive impact that
I have and miss Miss Brandy has on their lives.”

Brandy Moorehead is a GNETS Paraprofessional at Heritage.

She explains, “They really do well with him even myself. If he’s out, they do good with me.
We communicate. We have good communication skills, and he has a lot of patience with them.”

A student chips in, “He’s yeah, he’s pretty helpful. Yeah, that’s all I can really say. He’s helpful.

Lacey Brown is the Assistant Principal at Heritage.

She says, “John is an amazing teacher for these students and never really needs us. Like he handles most things on his own. Um he’s always willing to push his kids just
like any other teacher would um with academics. And is just teaching them to be a great person.”

Mr. Parson concludes, “It is a GNET class. It stands for a Georgia network of educational and therapeutic support. We provide
Educational Services as well as therapeutic services to children, high school children. I want them to
remember most about me is not really anything about me, I want them to know that life will present them challenges, but
as long as they keep trying and hold their head up high and be resilient, and they will succeed in anything they do.”