For second-grade teacher Jo Elna Arnold, walking into Yates Primary School each morning feels a little different than it does for most first-year teachers.

Years before she had her own classroom, Arnold was a student in those same hallways, learning from teachers who made her feel known, supported and loved. Today, she is working alongside some of those same educators and creating that same sense of belonging for a new generation of students.

Arnold was born and raised in Cleveland and attended Cleveland City Schools from kindergarten through graduation, beginning at Yates before continuing to Ross Elementary, Cleveland Middle School and Cleveland High School.

Although she once planned to become an engineer, her path changed during her senior year at Cleveland High School. After a shoulder injury sidelined her from softball, Arnold spent time in the tutoring lab, where teachers began asking her to help younger students with math.

One student in particular changed everything.

After struggling with quadratic equations, the student told Arnold he was simply not smart enough to understand the material. Arnold refused to let him give up. She worked through several different approaches until one finally clicked.

Seeing the confidence on his face made Arnold realize she had found what she wanted to do with her life.

“It took one child,” Arnold said. “I realized this is what I’m called to do. My heart is in teaching.”

That calling eventually brought her back home.

Arnold joined Yates Primary just before the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year. When she walked into her interview, several members of the team were educators she remembered from her own childhood. Less than 15 minutes later, they called to offer her the position.

For Arnold, the moment was overwhelming.

“This school gave me my stepping stones,” she said. “I remember coming to Yates and feeling so loved and so supported. I may not remember every lesson I learned, but I remember how my teachers made me feel.”

One of those teachers was Courtney Robbins, Arnold’s kindergarten teacher. Today, Robbins serves as Arnold’s mentor.

Robbins said watching her former student return as a teacher has been a special experience.

“When she was in my class, she was a spunky kindergartner, and now she’s a spunky adult,” Robbins said. “She has loads of personality. She is smart, she works hard, and it is pretty awesome to see where she started and where she is today.”

The connection is even more meaningful because Arnold stepped into the position Robbins previously held.

“As a teacher, to have somebody come back and work with you and to be able to see where they started and where they are now, that’s what we’re here for,” Robbins said. “For her, this was a dream to come back to her own school.”

Their connection never truly ended after kindergarten. Robbins followed Arnold’s journey through the years, including one memorable moment during Arnold’s senior walk at Yates. Robbins pulled her former student from the line for a photo, capturing what they thought at the time was one of Arnold’s final walks through the school as a student.

Neither knew she would one day return as a teacher.

Now, Arnold is focused on giving her students the same feeling she remembers receiving at Yates.

Recently, a parent told Arnold that her child had not enjoyed coming to school in previous years but now looks forward to being in Arnold’s classroom each day. Hearing those words brought Arnold to tears.

“The love that I’m pouring out is being received, and it is making a difference in these kids’ lives,” Arnold said. “That means so much to me.”

She said her greatest hope is that her students remember far more than the academic lessons they learn in second grade.

“I want them to know that they are so loved,” Arnold said. “I want them to know they are capable and deserving, and that nothing should ever stop them from reaching for their goals. They can do whatever their little hearts desire.”

For Arnold, that message is rooted in her own experience.

The child who once sat in a Yates kindergarten classroom feeling loved by Courtney Robbins is now standing at the front of her own classroom, hoping her students will one day remember the very same thing.