Valerie Blacklock Jackson a native Houstonian. I’m the second oldest of six children. We were reared in Fifth Ward until 1972. That’s when our parents had this “brilliant idea“to move to South Park. This meant that I would have had to attend Jesse Jones High School instead of Phillis Wheatley High School. Yes, I was zoned to attend Phillis Wheatley and I had even made the JV cheer squad. However, I was devastated about not making the varsity cheer squad. So I vowed not to eat or wear anything “Purple“. Cheerleading was my life at that time and I wasn’t done. I decided to try out at Kashmere even though I wasn’t zoned to attend there. My maternal grandmother lived on Wileyvale, the same street as Kashmere High School. What a coincidence! So I tried out for cheerleader at Kashmere and made the varsity cheer squad. That meant no more cheering in the afternoon. After all, I had done that since 5th grade, and I was determined to cheer at night. Friday night lights here I come! So I made the sacrifice to get up before dawn to catch two metro buses every morning from South Park. Then in the evening after cheerleading practice I rode two buses back home. It all paid off because I made co-captain my junior year. I was named captain my senior year and crowned Miss Kashmere to boot in 1975. The crown earned me a scholarship to the college of my choice. I chose to attend Houston Baptist University along with my best friend the late Rozina Davis. If I had to do it over again I would definitely attend an HBCU. I regret not getting the HBCU experience with students that I could identify with, professors who encouraged me to succeed, and campuses that boasted a rich history and culture. I married the late Ron Jackson in December 1975. I graduated from HBU in 1979. I graduated with a B. S. in Elementary Education. My tenure with Houston I. S. D lasted 36 years. I taught at Peter Janowski Elementary from 1979-1992, John J. Herrera from 1992-2014, and Felix Cook from 2014-2015. During those years, Ron and I reared 5 children, Kelli, Ron II, Taylar, Codi, and Ryon. We were blessed with five grandkids Miles, Aden, Ron III, Alli, and Hazel. I retired from H. I.S.D. in 2015. Ron and I were married for 42 years until his passing in 2017. Since his death, two more grandkids were born, Lennox and Auzi. On occasion, I do reading intervention
in H.I.S.D at the elementary level. I’ve visited Canada, Bahamas, Cancun, Cayman Island, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Las Vegas, Washington D. C., and Disney Florida to name a few places. I’m even available to spoil and babysit my 7 heartbeats sometimes. I’m a proud Kashmere alum living my best life. I have lots of red, white and blue in my closet and one beautiful purple dress that I’ve had for three years. I’m proud to say that I’ve never worn that dress! I’ve tried but it doesn’t seem natural. Ram Life forever!