From an early age, Raini Jewell was destined to be a teacher.
She explained her path into teaching, “I think I’ve always known
teaching was what I wanted to do, although I tried to avoid it a few
times in my life. My mom was an early childhood educator in NYC
for 30 years. I spent so many days helping out in her classrooms as
a young child and I always did my high school community service
hours in the elementary classrooms at my school.”
“During my college summer breaks, I ran recreational programs
for under privileged children in the South Bronx. In my junior
year of college, while other people were going abroad to study, I
came back to NYC to take graduate level education classes and do
student-teaching in a dual-language program in a New York City
public school,” Raini said. She received a B.A. in Psychology from
Brown University in Providence, R.I. and then earned a Masters
in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Bank Street
College of Education in New York City. She continued, “Somehow,
I was still planning on going to Law School after all of these
experiences. Someone I admired greatly pushed me to teach for just
one year after college, which I
did and then I decided I wanted
graduate school for education
instead of law school. After 5
years of teaching, I took another
break and entered the corporate
world for a couple of years, but
I missed being in a school, so
I came running back after two
years,” she said.
“What I love about teaching
is truly, everything! I guess if I
had to pick one thing though, it’s
being around young children and
seeing how excited and happy
they get whenever they have an
“aha” moment or they realize
they’ve learned or mastered
something new,” Raini beamed.
“There’s always real joy on their
faces. It’s fun to be around such
happy people all the time,” she
said.
“I was born and raised and
lived for 40 years in Manhattan
(New York City). I didn’t really imagine myself ever moving to the
Tampa area until after I had my daughter and went through my
with a young child anymore! My brother has been living in Tampa
of 2015 and was originally living in Riverview and working as
the Lower School Division Director at an Independent School in
South Tampa. I moved up to Wesley Chapel and started working at
Academy at the Lakes in July of 2018 as lower Division Director of
Curriculum and Instruction. In January 2019, I moved into a new
position as Lower Division Director. I am a single mom to a 5 year
old daughter who is in Kindergarten at AATL,” she noted.
her life. “When people around me whine and complain, I say ‘First
world problems, people!’ I try to keep things in perspective and
acknowledge that we’re pretty lucky and well-off and our problems
who have real problems so let’s be grateful for what we have and
how we live,” she pointed out. Another mantra that guides her is
‘Be Kind’. She emphasized, “I truly don’t understand people who
are mean just to be mean. Life is way too short to move through
it being ugly towards others. I’d much rather expend that kind
of energy on something positive.” Her young students are very
fortunate that her journey led her to the classroom.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEANINE MCLEOD / CLOUD 9 STUDIOS
VOLUME VI • ISSUE VIII Wesley Chapel Magazine 9
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