Please join JRHS in welcoming Mrs. Michelle Johnson to our Faculty Team! Michelle’s career in education began by earning a BA in Early Childhood and Elementary Education, from Stonehill College, MA. After moving to AZ, she taught elementary school for five years and then moved to CA. There she attended Notre Dame College and earned a dual MA degree in Marriage Family and Child Counseling, and Art Therapy. Three years later, she moved to Ellsworth, ME and got married to her now husband of 25 years.
In ME, Michelle continued to work in education as an instructor in family literacy, followed by Head-Start, and finished as a Title I high school tutor, her first son was born. Her family moved to MA, where her second son was born, and after three years, moved to NH where she has lived for 18 years.
While homeschooling her boys, Michelle enjoyed several hobbies all at once by running a pre-school in her home, and teaching nature classes to community homeschool children. During those enjoyable endeavors, everyone learned about nature, a bit of sign language, nature and art, gardening, and creative writing. During homeschool years, they participated in various co-ops were she also taught a variety of subjects, her favorite being Apologia Anatomy.
Michelle greatly enjoys spending time with friends weekly, visiting with and facilitating a bible study for elderly friends, spending time with her husband in Wells, walking on Drake’s Island Beach, photographing nature, journaling and most of all, spending time praying and visiting with the Lord.
Born a teacher at heart, she sees new and exciting things in God’s creation, and no matter what the situation, creative ideas abound when there is an opportunity to problem solve, to grow forward, to look at or to try something differently, to reach out to someone in difficult moments, to make fruitful changes where necessary…she says that if she received a penny for every idea she has, she would be a millionaire several times over! While she will not expect a penny from JRHS for every idea she has, she desires to share whatever ideas the Lord compels her to share, for whatever purpose or reason. For her, ideas are about possibilities, options, and hope. Sharing them in community is about planting, growing, weeding, harvesting, and celebrating, all of which she looks forward to doing, as she envisions relationships with students and coworkers growing into blooms of God’s glory, right in the very garden of JRHS.