Lori Jones

Lori Jones officially began her tenure as Woodford County’s superintendent on July 1. Photo courtesy Lori Jones

Lori Jones is stepping into her new role as superintendent of Woodford County Public Schools with 25 years of experience in education.

Jones describes her experience at Woodford County so far as “incredible” after she officially took over the position on July 1.

“I’ve been able to really just jump in with the team that’s already here and just picked up where we’ve not really missed a beat and that’s been very positive,” she said.

Jones’ inspiration to pursue education came from her mother, who she describes as the best special education teacher that she’s ever known.

“She just took her role so seriously and she knew that her role was to empower her students to help them create a different narrative for their lives if they weren’t in a good place,” she said. “She believed that every student was more than capable of learning, and she championed for each student.”

That legacy shaped Jones’ own educational philosophy.

“Every single person in education has a key role in shaping each student’s experience throughout their career,” she said. “We should truly empower others to know that role, to own it, and to really exercise that role, exercise the influence that they can have in the life of a student throughout their career.”

Jones’ diverse background in education and leadership has prepared her for the role of superintendent. She taught elementary English and high school algebra for five years at Clay County Public Schools in her hometown of Manchester before transitioning into a variety of leadership positions.

She was accepted into the Highly Skilled Educator program through the Kentucky Department of Education, where she was placed in low-performing schools and districts for three years.

“I got to work with schools who started out maybe low performing and then help them establish systems and capacity building in their schools and districts and to help them increase student learning rates and just be more successful,” she said.

This experience led her to Letcher County, where she served as the director of curriculum and instruction and as an interim elementary principal at some of the schools in the district.

“I really enjoyed that as well,” she said.

She later returned to the Kentucky Department of Education to work in what’s now known as the Office of Continuous Improvement and Support.

“I worked again with low-performing schools and districts and was able to really learn a lot about how systems work and just how to create systems in schools and districts that would sustain for the long-term and would help impact student learning rates in positive ways,” Jones said.

Her career also includes time in higher education, where she served as the program chair of advanced programs at the University of the Cumberlands and most recently served as director of elementary schools in Jessamine County for the last nine years before beginning her time as superintendent.

Her decision to apply for the superintendent position was inspired by her desire to build on the excellence of Woodford County.

“I wanted to become superintendent so that I could join a district that already has a tradition of excellence, but also to empower each of us to dream even bigger for this district,” she said. “And that’s what I’m probably most passionate about as a leader, just empowering others to really understand the impact that they can make.”

As she begins her tenure, Jones is launching a strategic plan with a theme inspired by the district’s mascot, the yellow jackets, called “The Hive,” which stands for “harnessing innovation, vision and excellence.”

“I’m creating these advisory groups and I’m calling them hive groups to establish two-way communication between me and all of the stakeholders in the district and community,” she said.

With Jones’ extensive experience and commitment to leadership, she strives to advance the district toward a successful future.