05/17/2026
Last week, before our Spring Concert, we had the honor of naming Rosebud Elementary School's Teacher of the Year for 2026 - and we could not be more proud.
Miss Jay Rose Melon. Kindergarten.
Let me tell you about a morning in Miss Jay's math class. She told them they were going to learn big, big numbers today. A whole bunch of kids are right in front of her on the carpet. Timmie way up front on her knees - "I bet we're going to count a zillion!" she says. There's another boy across the classroom. Fiddling with something by himself. He doesn't seem to be paying attention.
Anyway, Miss Jay puts a pile of cubes on the screen and asks her students to look and wonder. No instructions yet. No right answer. Just: what do you notice?
Hands shoot up all around the carpet. Miss Jay uses a set of popsicle sticks - each one has been customized with a different child's face and name - to call on students. "I notice some cubes." "I see a red cube!" "Some of the cubes are put together!" Then Miss Jay pulls another stick, looks down at it, and does something that surprises me. She looks at the little boy across the room -- the one I thought was forgotten - well, he wasn't forgotten. Miss Jay calls his name.
"Thomas, what did you notice?"
He looks up, immediately, and says, "I wonder why there are four of all the colors?"
"Thank you, Thomas!" Miss Jay says.
"You're welcome, Miss Jay," he answers.
Thomas gave the best answer in the whole room. And Miss Jay found it because she believes in him. She believes all her students have something important to say. That belief - extended to every child, every day - is what makes Miss Jay extraordinary.
This year more than half of Miss Jay's 19 kindergarten students finished the year both accurate and fluent in letter naming and letter sounds. Those are kids who will enter first grade reading.
But there is more to this picture than the numbers.
There's also the picture! Miss Jay designed the report cards families received this year. She has designed many of the flyers and notices students have taken home before important events - including the Spring Concert! Miss Jay produces classroom videos that bring her students' learning to life for their families. When a problem needs solving at 6:30 on a Saturday morning, Miss Jay is one of the first people I can count on. I message her and I always see her little avatar pop up: "Jay Melon is typing..." I know what comes next - always the same six words: "What can I do, Mr. Chris?"
What can Miss Jay do? My goodness…
Ask Petan who taught him what he knows and who the best teacher is! Look at the joy on Timmie's face each day she comes to school! Listen to Iram read faster and more accurately than any kindergartner at any school in the district! That's what Miss Jay can do!
She sees all children as wakḣáŋyĕža - as sacred beings.
Miss Jay Rose Melon is the Panther Way in practice. She is Rosebud Elementary School's Teacher of the Year for 2026.
Ring that bell, Miss Jay!!!
