Jeanette Jones’ Bio
Her personal motto is a familiar spiritual saying, though many of us neglect to practice it in our daily lives. “I walk by faith and not by sight” has spiritually (and successfully) lead Jeannette Jones into her eleventh year as the owner and director of Jeanette’s Little Haven Christian Academy, a daycare, pre-school, and before and after-school establishment. A native of Gary, Indiana, Mrs. Jones moved to Dallas, Texas twenty years ago and began working for a local insurance company. A co-worker sparked her interest in the daycare business and she soon left the insurance world to become a partner in the venture. Taking courses and gaining valuable experience over the years, Mrs. Jones broke off to institute her own childcare facility. You always have to look toward future potential and development.
What exactly has Mrs. Jones learned in her twenty years that has made her business run so favorably? “Number one,” she preaches earnestly, “you have to love and be passionate about what you do. I cannot stress that point enough. I love children and I wanted to create a space where they could grow and learn and have lots of fun doing it in the process. Secondly, it is mandatory that you have plenty of patience, especially when you are dealing with a lot of children with different temperaments and mannerisms on a daily basis.”
The most prevalent obstacles she has had to deal with, she is disappointed to confess, are negative attitudes, non-participating parents, and finding devoted staff members. “With the staffing issue, I try to offer incentives like providing them with free childcare for their children. We have a handful of wonderful people working here who are really committed to the kids, and it shows with their endurance and hard work.”
“As far as the uninvolved parents, well, I just keep trying and hoping that one day they’ll get on the bandwagon. I mean, these are your children; you should be active in what’s going on with them. Think about it; my motto is ‘child’s home away from hom’. They spend a great amount of time here at the center. The monthly parent meetings, the fundraisers, the field trips - you should be a part of at least some of it, if not all of it.”
In seeing so many of her goals materials and doing well, Mrs. Jones has her eyes set on the future and eventual expansion. In 2013, Mrs. Jones opened a second center, Jeanette’s Little Haven Enrichment Center that includes after-school and summer programs for students up to 6th grade. “We need more African-American entrepreneurship,” she stresses, “and we need to support each other one hundred percent. I say that not only because I am an African-American owner that desires to continue to succeed, but because there are so few of us in our own communities. I am proof that hard work and lots of prayers pay off.”
