The Legacy of Paul R. Jones 

      

A Leader With a Heart

The Foundation is both proud and delighted to actively support the Paul R. Jones Capital Campaign.  We are pleased to partner with Pine Forge Academy (PFA) and the National Pine Forge Academy Alumni Association (NPFAAA) to raise funds for the prestigious Paul R. Jones Student Multiplex Center.   The building will be a beacon of progress and hope for Pine Forge Academy families, students and the community.  It will represent the legacy of a man who was a champion for education and opportunity of minority students.  

Paul R. Jones did so much to enrich the Pine Forge Academy community during his distinguished career of more than 40 years as a mathematics teacher and administrator. It is fitting that the state-of-the-art student center be named after Paul R. Jones.  It will ensure for generations to come his impact and inspiring example as a teacher of many and a man who genuinely was a leader with a heart. 

Personal Life ….  January 27, 1931  – July 5, 1995

Paul Robert Jones was-born January 21, 1931, in Los Angeles, California. He was the third child of the late Verdell Arthur and Exzelder (McNeal J Jones).  His great-grandmother, his grandmother and mother were devout Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Christian denomination members.  Paul became a SDA at a very early age and received most of his early education in SDA church schools.  He was Re-Baptized in 1956.

At the age of 16, Paul attended Pine Forge Institute (now Pine Forge Academy) and graduated In the Class of 1950.  He received the inaugural Student of the Year Award, established by the late Robert L. Handy.  He then matriculated at Oakwood College (University) during which time he was drafted into the United States Army.  He served his country for two years, received a Good Conduct Award and became a Staff Sergeant.  He then married Vivianne Alice Watson and returned lo Oakwood College where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics.

Paul was never one rigid in doctrine or proof, but rather one who sought to exemplify discipline in his own character.  He was always on time and seldom absent.  He was a very reserved person, though he reached out to anyone when he saw a need.  He and his wife Vivianne, had one son, Watson Reginald and two daughters, Paula Robin McNair and Vivianne Rhonda Johnson.  His hobbies included collecting stamps, coins and currency, Bibles and calculators. He enjoyed poetry, associating math with Bible passages and traveling.  However, nothing gave him more joy than his four grandchildren.  

Professional Career

Paul R. Jones was the first alumnus to return to his alma mater, the Pine Forge Academy, when he accepted a teaching position.   He immediately made plans and worked in consultation with the late Earl I. Watson for a standardized math department that was innovative and highly developed.   He also became totally immersed in campus activities as a coach of the basketball team and made himself available for numerous campus needs.  He also served in several capacities at the Pine Forge Church.   

Paul R. Jones demonstrated the characteristics of an outstanding and much beloved teacher.  He was a visionary and  a highly effective teacher with the ability to inspire and reach the intellectual development and critical thinking of students in his class.  Because of the concern he consistently had for the growth and development of his students he was extraordinarily popular!  His students, and others, gravitated to his positive can do attitude and his mentoring that to this day, sustains thousands of  individuals who were his former students.   He was the champion of many who have become successful, contributing residents in society. 

Throughout administrative changes, Paul R. Jones remained.  He served PFA as vice-principal for a number of years and was interim principal for two years. In 1981, he returned to the classroom.  He was a forward thinker who wanted the math department be one of the best.  He made plans for a computerized math department with adequate software to meet the needs for contemporary mathematics instruction.  He taught a seven period schedule daily and tutored students when necessary.