Swansboro Elementary names auditorium for music teacher

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

For Wallesa Diane Coleman Jones, teaching elementary schoolchildren to appreciate music has been a labor of love.

But after 48 years in the classroom, the 71-year-old Richmond native is retiring.

Still, her legacy as a music teacher and choir director will live on at Swansboro Elementary School where she has taught for the past eight years.

Principal Theron Sampson saluted Ms. Jones’ work by ceremoniously renaming the auditorium that doubled as her choral music room, an impressive honor in a school with a strong musical program that also allows students to learn to play instruments and participate in a band and orchestra.

In a June 5 ceremony, Mr. Sampson posted a small flag bearing her name outside the auditorium door along with a large photograph of her.

“She brought so much love to her work,” said Mr. Sampson. “I wanted the children to see her and continue to be inspired.”

“It’s such an honor,” said Ms. Jones, who said “my greatest joy as a teacher has been seeing my students excel.”

Mr. Sampson also has hired her daughter, Chrissy J. Waddell, a music teacher who also sings and plays the piano and violin, to continue Ms. Jones’ legacy as both a music teacher and director of the school’s Concert and Boys’ choirs.

Ms. Waddell, who had been teaching in Henrico County, said that she sought the opportunity so she could carry on her mother’s work.

A graduate of Maggie L. Walker High School, Ms. Jones began her teaching career in 1974 after graduating from Virginia Union University, which she attended on full scholarship because of her music talent.

She spent her first 20 years teaching in New Kent County, where she ultimately ran the band, orchestra and choral music programs at all of the schools, and then joined the Richmond Public Schools faculty.

Ms. Jones taught at six other elementary schools before joining the music program at Swansboro in 2015.

During her tenure in RPS, she was awarded Teacher of the Year honors five times at individual schools where she taught.

A composer as well as a teacher, she also wrote the school song for George Mason Elementary, now Henry L. Marsh III Elementary.

Teaching is just one facet of Ms. Jones’ musical life. She has been involved with music since she was a toddler, she said.

Her late mother, Judith L.

Coleman, was proud of her talent, she said, and would arrange for her to sing solos at various churches when she was just a child.

The granddaughter of church organist and music teacher Anthony Woolfolk of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in Richmond, Ms. Jones said she grew up singing in school choirs and at Fifth Baptist Church.

At age 16, then in her senior year at Maggie Walker, she was tapped to direct Fifth Baptist’s Mass Choir, a position she would hold for 52 years.

“As a teacher, all I have wanted to do is to ensure my students have a positive experience,” Ms. Jones said. “Music provides an escape from many of the challenges they face, and I have so appreciated their joy and excitement as they take part.”

Price Legacy Museum, which oversees the historical preservation of Carver-Price High School, one of many Rosenwald schools built to educate Black children barred from attending segregated schools. Mr. Smith grew up with an interest in flying planes from a young age, and earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Air Force ROTC in 1968. He was soon after commissioned as a second lieutenant, and received military awards for valor in combat during the Vietnam War. From there, Mr. Smith moved between roles as a Navy engineer in Dahlgren, work with the Federal Aviation Administration and more, retiring with over 8,000 flying hours logged. Once retired, Mr. Smith never lost his appreciation for planes, and currently serves as a consultant on safety regulations for aircraft, as well as an educator for young people about the history and impact of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Ms. Holbrook has used a love of science and math, degrees from the University of Virginia and University of Maryland Smith School of Business, and more than a decade of work at Electronic Data Systems and Dev Technology Group to build a unique space as one of the few female African-American CEOs in the technology sector. Outside her work, Ms. Holbrook also serves as a mentor in Fairfax County Public Schools, is part of AnitaB.org and on the advisory board chair for After-School AllStars, D.C. These groups help provide career and academic support to women leaders and minorities in tech, and middle school students from underserved communities.

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