Veola M. Jackson · 1985 Honoree

Veola Jackson seems to have been blessed with a remarkable set of tools from which educators the world over might draw some valuable lessons. She possesses the “formidable” intelligence, the “persistent” pride in a job well done, and the caring concern that may spell success under any circumstances. Add her training in public relations, special education, radio broadcasting, public school innovation and administration, and degrees in Dietetics and Institutional Management and Education (Masters, University of Massachusetts). Veola, with the skill of a true professional, applies these weighty qualifications in a way which has caused her to be compared to “Wonder Woman.”

Principal Jackson’s service to the Capitol Hill Community began in March of 1973, when she took the reins at Edmonds/Peabody. “I could understand why the children would not even want to go to school under the conditions which existed at the time, much less, be motivated to learn there,” she said.

Veola went to work in the community getting to know many parents of school-age children. She deliberately cultivated a strong preschool program to feed the student body in the years to come and headed the Hobson Middle School experiment to continue quality local public school education through grade eight.

The results of Mrs. Jackson’s efforts have been nothing short of spectacular. The three schools she now runs, Peabody, Hobson and Watkins, reflect Veola’s organization and imagination as soon as you step in the door. All have responsible and active PTA’s that take great satisfaction in the school system they helped create.

She has been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles. March 1, 1983, was declared Veola Jackson Day by Mayor Barry. In June of 1984 Terrance H. Bell, Secretary of Education, selected Hobson Middle School as one of the 202 best secondary schools in the nation. She was nominated for the 1984 National PTA Phoebe Apperson Hearst Outstanding Educator Award.

Veola’s contribution to the Capitol Hill Community will never be quantifiably measurable, but it is more than just significant. In the generations to come there will be those who credit their success in life to a sound elementary education, in a public school, in Washington, D.C. on Capitol Hill.