Emily Johnson
“I believe in the power of yet—don’t say I can’t do it but instead, say I can’t do it yet.”
These are words Emily hopes to share not only with her students, but also with the community. The power of believing you can improve is an inspiring message for all. Nonetheless, for only having three letters, the word--yet, sets a great mindset for our growing community.
Emily Johnson was born on March 12, 1988, to Jim and Judy (Clauss) Johnson in Clarksville, Indiana. Raised in Salem, she attended Salem Community Schools and graduated in 2006. Throughout high school, she was heavily involved in both academics and athletics. Aside from playing volleyball and softball, she was also an active member of Science Club, Spanish Club, SADD, National Honor Society, as well as the Washington County Community Foundation. She began working at Paoli Peaks at the age of fourteen where she continues to work. Pursuing higher education, she continued her studies at Indiana University Bloomington where she graduated in 2010 with a major in elementary education.
As a child, Emily remembers being quiet and shy, which served as a personal challenge. Emily learned to overcome her challenge with the help of her career and college education. Thinking back to her college years, Emily remembers fulfilling her communications requirements, “I was terrified of public speaking at the time, so I took interpersonal communications instead.” Despite crossing the first obstacle, she was faced with another obstacle when she was assigned to create a music class lesson plan where she had to sing in front of college students. “I was able to practice my communication skills and better myself through courses that challenged my personality,” Emily stated. Furthermore, her teaching career has also helped her. “Talking to 6th graders has taught me to open up even more,” Emily added. From shyness to strength, she has learned to fulfill her desire for change.
“A lot of really good teachers has inspired and helped me in pursuing education,” Emily said. She added, “Mrs. Gwaltney, Mrs. Barrett, and Leanna McClain all have influenced me in different ways throughout my childhood and teaching career.” Emily recalls sweet moments where her professor, “Momma Leanna” would call to check on her and bring food during the time of recovery after her kidney stone surgery.
In August of 2010, Emily began her teaching career at Salem Middle School where she taught sixth grade social studies and language arts. “I was actually planning on subbing, but I received a phone call about a job offer the day before the first day of school. I had 12 hours to prepare lesson plans for an entire year,” Emily said. After one year of teaching at Salem Middle School, she transferred to 3rd grade where she took over Mrs. Clark’s position in Room 302.
During her time at Bradie Shrum, Emily received her Master’s degree in elementary education with a high ability license through Ball State University in 2014. She remains as a third grade elementary teacher at Bradie Shrum Elementary.
In addition to her teaching career, she also became a volleyball coach for 8th grade where she coached for 10 years as well as a middle school track coach for 3 years.
In 2016, through the WCCF Salem Giving Tree Fund and Mahuron Education Grant, Emily and Crystal Mikels founded STEM Club. One year later, the Robotics Club was established through the ROI Out of School Stem Grant. Subsequently, the two received funding to start up the Bradie Shrum Elementary Maker Space. 2019 will be the first year that the 5th and 6th graders of Robotics Club will be attending the First Lego League Robotics Competition.
It is clear that education frames the considerable part of her living. Nonetheless, one of her greatest accomplishments was the establishment of the STEM Club fund received at the 2018 Washington County Community Foundation Annual Meeting. At that time, eight STEM Club members represent a booth and demonstrated their robots to attendees of the dinner. Attendees were then instructed to vote on their favorite booth to win a $25,000 endowment fund. Emily recalls giving the group of kids a pep talk before, “Mrs. Mikels was away on vacation but we managed to have her on video chat and all the kids got to talk to her before they announced the name.” When the announcement was made, Emily remembers the excitement each and every kid expressed, “the kids were about to burst! I took them out to the back really quick where they screamed with joy. It was a very memorable experience, we all went out for ice cream afterwards.”
For Emily, her love for Washington County stems from her teaching career. “My career has provided really good connections with the people in this county. Just seeing the kids come through elementary and with multiple generations to come is such a valuable experience for me,” Emily said. Through her students, she has learned to like robotics and computer coding.
In her free time, she enjoys travelling, reading, skiing and snowboarding. Aside from travelling to 48 continental states, she has also travelled outside of the United States to Canada, Mexico, Italy, Greece, and Turkey. She is also an active member of Northside Christian Church.
“Growing up, my parents have instilled in me on giving back to the community and I’m thankful for that,” Emily said. The Emily Johnson Touch Tomorrow Fund was established in 2018. As an educator, she sees the importance of endowed funds as a recipient of teacher grants to promote innovation in the classroom. “It seemed like a good time to start one, I’m sure it will be able to help others in many ways,” Emily stated. Through her kindness and generosity, this gift will be able to help address the many needs of Washington County.
