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33Helena had a successful and robust 46 year legacy in educational service in Washington, DC and Maryland schools, where

she also met her husband of 38 years, Tony Jones, Jr., a principal with DC Public Schools, (who preceded her in death in
2015). She spent 32 years in the District of Columbia Public School system as an English teacher, Dean of Girls,
Assistant Principal, and Principal before retiring as Assistant Superintendent for the Foundation for Educational Innovation.
She talked fondly of parents and students who became another extended family to her at Hart, Roper, Springdale, Draper,
Friendship Educational Center, Mary Church Terrell, Ballou, Charles Herbert Flowers, and Northwestern (Baltimore).

Tough but loving principal
Helena earned a reputation of being a tough, but loving principal who believed that schools must educate children, and at
the same time build character through appropriate discipline. Her family patiently learned that a casual trip to the grocery
store, shopping, restaurants, or after her many speaking events, could turn into hours, as children, parents, colleagues and
teachers from way back would have to catch her up on their lives. She loved these “brief” conversations, and she would
seize the opportunity to coach and mentor when she thought it was warranted!

Although her promotion to Assistant Superintendent was an honor prior to her retirement from DC Public Schools, she
quickly realized that she missed interactions with students, parents, and daily conversations with her staff and
administrators. When she was called out of brief retirement in 1998 to become principal of Northern High School in
Baltimore, Maryland, she accepted the opportunity to try to make a difference in the educational experience of the
students, staff and parents. In 2000, then Prince George’s County Regional Superintendent, Dr. Marcus Newsome, asked

41her to open the Charles Herbert Flowers High School. Drawn to the honor and legacy of the school’s namesake, Dr.

Charles Herbert Flowers, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, and after meeting him, she delayed her retirement again

56and decided to be the inaugural principal of Flowers. Her deep passion for learning and unconditional love for students and
her staff and administrators, were the driving force behind numerous accomplishments of the students and staff at Flowers,
the “Mecca of Excellence.”

46-year educator who made a difference
An esteemed educator of 46 years, Helena consulted with numerous school systems and principals, and appeared on
local, national and international television programs including CBS’ Face the Nation, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN
Global, and C-Span. Numerous articles have appeared in the Washington Post, Afro-American, Los Angeles Times,
Baltimore Sun, The Gazette, and the Prince George’s Journal. She has keynoted conferences and served as guest
speaker at numerous schools and churches throughout the country.

Among Helena’s many local and national awards and recognitions, she received the prestigious Reader’s Digest’s
American Heroes in Education Award, The Washington Post’s Distinguished Principal of the Year, The Washington Post
Distinguished Educational Leadership Award (voted by her peers and colleagues) and recently notable the Prince George’s
County Board of Education vote to grant the request of the Charles Herbert Flowers High School community to name the
school’s auditorium in her honor, the Helena Nobles Jones Auditorium.

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