82-year-old principal teaches diversity

Bonjour! Comment <0x00E7>a va?"

Jannik Jones greets her class casually with "Good morning! How are you?" in French.

"Bonjour, Mrs. Jones," the nine high school students respond as the French class starts with the lecture for the day, which is mostly in French.

Mrs. Jones is not only a French teacher, she is the principal and founder of the private Heritage Hall International School in Hendersonville.

Last month she celebrated her 82nd birthday on the famous high-speed train (the TGV) while traveling from Paris to the French coast during a 10-day educational trip to Europe with high school students and parents.

It's no surprise when she mentions that she has been told that she is the oldest active principal in Henderson County.

Heritage Hall says on its Web site (www.heritagehallschool.org) that it's the "best kept secret" in Hendersonville. That might have to do with its location, tucked behind offices and shops at the corner of Old Spartanburg Road and Spartanburg Highway. The sign is hard to see and the school doesn't advertise. Most people hear about HHIS through word of mouth or by searching the Web.

Founded in 1980, Heritage Hall is a small school, with 65 students and 13 teachers. "It's more like a big family," says freshman Lena Koenig, 15.

"Success is the key to a good student and a happy person," Mrs. Jones says.

That's the spiritual foundation of her schools.

"Every person is different, and so is every child. Some learn fast, some slower. And we take the diverse backgrounds into consideration," she says. "Every single child needs our special attention."

In a routine

In the morning, the schedule for all grades is the same: Reading, math and language skills including grammar and spelling.

That allows flexibility between classes so that the students can progress according to their ability level. This applies to children with deficits as well as the ones that are gifted, says Jones, whose father was French and mother was American. Part of Heritage Hall's mission is "to open the students' eyes to the rest of the world."

"We don't live in an isolated area," she says. "We have to deal with the rest of the world!"

Field trips are required. Once or twice a month, sometimes even more, the children go on the school bus for a "class outside the classroom."

Once a year, an educational trip is offered to students and parents which takes the high school students overseas. So far Mrs. Jones hasn't missed one.

At one time Heritage Hall was well known by the Tennis Club in Hendersonville. Kimberly Kessaris from Hendersonville, one of the top players of the United States in the 80s, played at the Australian Open as well as in Wimbledon, where she had a match against Steffi Graf.

'All my children'

Heritage Hall International School was founded in 1980 by Jones and her friend, Lottie Marsh, who died two years ago.

"We came here to retire, but we were so bored. So we started this school," Jones said.

They rented 'this funny little old house' on Temon Road (off Kanuga Road) and started with kindergarten and first grade.

"We started off with 10 students," Jones said.

The school also has one of the lowest tuition rates for private schools in Henderson and Buncombe counties.

"It was never about money," she says. "I run this school because I love children. They are all my children."