“For such a time as this.”

Lori Boles Jones is not simply an educator; she is a transformer. After more than 30 years of distinguished service in Florida’s public education system, Lori has chosen to bring everything she has learned, built, and earned directly back to the community she loves. Footsteps to Excellence, Inc., is not a retirement method; it is an elevation. It is the fullest expression of a lifetime of purpose.

An alumna of the renowned Bethune-Cookman University and holder of a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University, Lori has served with distinction as a classroom teacher, mathematics coach, and assistant principal. Her extensive, deeply personal experience in Title I programs gives her an unparalleled understanding of the real barriers facing underserved students in communities like West Palm Beach’s 33401, 33407, and 33409 — and an unshakeable conviction, grounded in her faith, that those barriers are not permanent.

At Northboro Montessori School, Lori served as Mathematics Coach for six transformative years. She co-developed a rigorous, hands-on mathematics curriculum fully aligned with Florida state standards; built not merely for compliance, but for genuine student mastery. She worked in close collaboration with teachers, providing the coaching, resources, and professional development they needed to deliver exceptional instruction. The results spoke for themselves.

At Pleasant City Elementary School, Lori served as Assistant Principal for four years. Under her instructional leadership, the program achieved its most significant academic turnaround in recent memory — rising from a Florida State Academic Grade of F to an A under the state’s A-through-F school accountability system. That is not merely a letter grade. That is a community of children whose futures were rewritten. That is families who began to believe again. That is the standard to which Lori Boles Jones holds herself and to which she holds every program she leads.

Her subsequent role as Assistant Principal at Roosevelt Middle School — the direct feeder for Pleasant City Elementary, gave Lori a perspective that few leaders possess: a full, unbroken understanding of a child’s academic journey from the earliest years through the critical transition into adolescence. She knows where the gaps form. She knows how to close them. And she has built Footsteps to Excellence, Inc. to do exactly that.

Lori Boles Jones brings everything she has earned over three decades — her credentials, her proven record, her deep community roots, and her irreplaceable, faith-driven conviction — to build the program that the children and families of Palm Beach County have always deserved.

Education
• Bachelor of Science — Bethune-Cookman University
• Master of Science in Educational Leadership — Nova Southeastern University

Career Highlights
• 30+ Years in Florida Public Education — Retired
• Mathematics Coach — Northboro Montessori School — 6 Years
• Assistant Principal — Pleasant City Elementary School — 4 Years
• Assistant Principal — Roosevelt Middle School
• Title I Programs Specialist
• Florida State Academic Grade F to A Turnaround Leader
• STEM Education Advocate
• Equity and Excellence Champion

Achievement Highlights
Historic Florida State Academic Grade F to A Turnaround
Led Pleasant City Elementary School from a Florida State Academic Grade of F to an A under the state’s A through F school accountability system — the largest academic improvement in the program’s recent history. A transformation that changed the trajectory of an entire community.
Curriculum Innovation
Developed and implemented a Florida standards-aligned, hands-on mathematics curriculum at Northboro Montessori School over six years — equipping teachers and measurably elevating student achievement across the entire campus.
Lifelong Equity Champion
More than 30 years of experience ensuring that all students — regardless of ZIP code, income level, or circumstance — have access to a high-quality, college- and career-ready education. Not as a goal. As a non-negotiable standard.
Full K–8 Leadership Perspective
A rare and invaluable K–8 perspective spanning early childhood through middle grades — giving Footsteps to Excellence, Inc. a whole-child approach to academic development grounded in real experience, not theory.