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Janice Johnson
Janice Johnson
00:57

Janice Johnson

Dallas Independent School District

Balch Springs, TX USA

"Don’t let sickness, health, or family deter you from what you are passionate about."

Career Roadmap

Janice's work combines: Education, Business, and Teaching / Mentoring

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Day In The Life

General Education Educator

I teach social studies, reading, and writing to second grade students.

Skills & Education

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Associate's Degree

    Accounting

    DeCarteret College

  • Associate's Degree

    Accounting and Business/Management

    Duff's Business College

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Elementary Education and Teaching

    Western Governors University

  • Graduate Degree

    Strategic Management

    Western Governors University

  • Graduate Degree

    Curriculum and Instruction

    Western Governors University

Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a General Education Educator:

Associate's Degree: Accounting

Associate's Degree: Accounting and Business/Management

Bachelor's Degree: Elementary Education and Teaching

Graduate Degree: Strategic Management

Graduate Degree: Curriculum and Instruction

Learn more about different paths to this career

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life took a while to figure out

  • 1.

    I was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to the U.S. in 2000.

  • 2.

    After moving to the U.S., I started working with my husband doing administrative work before going into the nursing field as a patient care technician.

  • 3.

    After my last daughter was born, I decided to finally pursue my true passion of teaching.

  • 4.

    My sister told me about Western Governors University and I discovered that the school had degrees in education—I knew online learning would be the best option for me at that point in my life.

  • 5.

    After graduating from WGU with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, I decided to go back and get an MBA in strategic planning...just in case teaching didn’t work out.

  • 6.

    While I was in the habit of going to school, I decided to get a second master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, in order to strengthen my teaching skills.

  • 7.

    I worked as a long-term substitute teacher through school and then started as a kindergarten teacher after receiving my degree.

  • 8.

    I currently work as a second-grade teacher at Ebby Halliday Elementary School and am also pursuing my third master’s from WGU in educational leadership and administration.

Defining Moments

How I responded to discouragement

  • THE NOISE

    Messages from Myself:

    You should have gone back to school earlier.

  • How I responded:

    Your mindset is so important. My younger self might have told me that if I wanted to make a career change, I needed to have gone back to school earlier than I did. But I read a book that really gave me a lot of insight into how changing one thought can impact everything. Sure, it would have been easier to go to school before I had a family and I do recommend doing that. However, it's possible to go back to school and succeed if you have the right mindset and good support.