2024 CFNRV AR_FINAL_FB

Shelley recommended the CFNRV. Charlie did his research and came to the same conclusion. “I was aware of other educational scholarships set up through the Community Foundation,” he said. “I felt this was a good, solid direction to set up something that would go on for many years.” A Non-Traditional Teacher Who Saw the Best in Each Student Both Charlie and Jane Ann agree that she was a non-traditional teacher. “I have never been a traditional teacher. You know, one that just hands out worksheets,” said Jane Ann. “The social, emotional well-being of each child was much more important to me than having them learn how to pronounce a word. It was more important for them to be happy and comfortable, because if kids are stressed, they don’t learn.” Charlie described occasionally sitting in on Jane Ann’s classes in his role as school psychologist. He observed how Jane Ann strived to individually teach to each child, based on their skill set. He knew how good she was with children and how she would pivot to meet their needs. Charlie and Jane Ann still hear from the children she taught. “One of my former students, who is now an adult, said to me, the thing that he remembered is that everything in my class was first, you learn. And then you do it till you get good,” said Jane Ann. “Then you use it in some way. And then you change the world. I said that’s really… exactly what I wanted. I wanted them to learn it, do it, apply it, change the world.” This spring, two students received a $5,000 Jane Ann Wells scholarship. This includes one student that had Jane Ann as a teacher, Bang Truong of Blacksburg, who will be attending Virginia Tech this fall. The second student, Alaysia Graves of Christiansburg, plans to attend Radford University. If you would like to contribute to this fund or talk with the CFNRV team about setting up your

Jane Ann Wells and Charlie Gregory.

own fund, please reach out to us at cfnrv@cfnrv.org or 540-381-8999.

Jane Ann with her former student, Bang Truong (left) and Bang’s mother, Em Phan at the 2024 CFNRV scholarship luncheon.

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CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

All photos courtesy of Charlie Gregory.