2012 brought many changes into the personal and professional life of Jenny! She married her high school sweetheart in the summer of 2012 and moved back "home" to North Carolina! Jenny was named "Teacher of the Year" in her new school building during the 2013-2014 school year. Jenny served 25 years total as a kindergarten teacher and served as the School Improvement Team chair, Grade Level chair, Social chair, and serves on the superintendents' advisory cabinet. In the winter of 2020, she was awarded the North Carolina Principal Fellows/Transforming Principal Preparation Program at UNCC. She received her Master's in School Administration and began serving as an assistant principal during the 2021-2022 school year. In 2022-2023, she was moved to Highland School of Technology, the number one high school in the state of North Carolina. They received National Blue Ribbon status for the second time in school history in 2023. Jenny has been nominated for Assistant Principal of the Year in Gaston County Schools and is proud to serve her staff, students, and community.
In the spring of 2011, Jenny achieved designation as Ohio Master Teacher - the first one in her school district. She proudly served many roles on building and district leadership teams. She also served as an entry-year teacher mentor. She was named American Red Cross Education hero in 2006 and has also been nominated for the Disney Teacher of the Year award twice. Jenny has also been named Wal-Mart teacher of the year twice (in two different counties). She loved serving on committees and helping others in any capacity! At the time of her award in 2004, Kindergarten teacher Jennifer L. Bruney was engaging students in learning at New Holland Elementary School in New Holland. Jenny Bruney used one-on-one, small-group, and whole-group instruction as well as multi-modality activities to increase student achievement. It is no surprise that students read and wrote stories by the time they finish kindergarten. Additionally, Jenny became a mentor for other teachers in the S.T.E.P.S. (Students Using Tools to Evaluate Progress for Success) program. She helped implement all-day, everyday kindergarten throughout the school district, and was involved in rewriting the math course of study. An annual speaker at the State of Ohio Kindergarten Conference, she also gives presentations statewide for kindergarten teachers on effective classroom techniques. Jenny served on various curriculum committees and was President of the Parent Teacher Association.
