Over the last quarter of a century, I have tried to explain what JCM was like to people I know who are from Jackson or grew up out of town. I find that when I tell them about state championship athletic teams or Ivy League graduates I hear my own words not making sense to me. When I tell them about a racially diverse school of over 2,000 students that offered AP classes and rigorous honors classes, I regret that I didn’t appreciate what my high school was when I attended. When I choose stories to read with my middle school English class that I once read as a student at JCM, it is the best way I know how to honor the truly outstanding English department that shaped my love for reading in high school.

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