Love Creek Elementary Principal Equetta Jones grabbed the bag of hair care products that she stores alongside various toys and children’s books in her office and started to comb through kindergartener Serenity Boyer’s hair.

Half an hour or so later, Jones handed her a mirror to admire the finished look, braids put up into buns with a white bow on top.

“Now, what do you say to yourself?” she gently prompted the girl.

“I’m beautiful just the way I am,” Boyer replied shyly with a smile, looking at her reflection.

Principal Jones, or PJ as her students, staff and families call her, was nominated for the National Life Group’s 2024-25 LifeChanger of the Year Award, which is given to K-12 educators and school employees who make a significant impact on students’ lives. She’s one of 762 nominees nationwide.

“I feel like I’m their mom, their aunt, their god-mom, whatever they need me to be,” Jones said of her students. “If I see a need, I fill a need. And I don’t do it in judgment.”

Jones initially studied and worked in nursing but decided to switch to education, hoping to be the advocate and beacon of light and support for other kids that she was for her own children when they were in school.

She worked her way up, starting in the Red Clay Consolidated School District as an elementary school interventionist followed by time as a school bus aide, a classroom para, a special education teacher and an assistant principal. Most of her time in Red Clay was spent at various high-needs schools in Wilmington.

Four years ago, she left to come to Cape. She was hired as assistant principal of H.O. Brittingham Elementary, and a year later, she was named principal of Love Creek Elementary.

When she left Red Clay, she made sure every week to get on her iPad, FaceTime the chief custodian at those Wilmington schools and have him walk through the school so she could say hi to the students.

“There were some scholars who just needed that love,” she said. “My word is my bond, and I believe when I make that commitment to be with them forever. As long as they want me and they welcome me, I’m there.”

Some of her previous students are now incarcerated, so she writes them letters to stay in touch. She’s lost others to gun violence, but she remains in contact with their families.

She’s the godmother to several of her former students and even some of her former students’ children, cementing that role of a lifelong caregiver.

She has always been her three sons’ biggest advocate and supporter, even through the challenges she faced raising them as a single mother.

“I don’t want people to think that just because I’m in this seat, I don’t understand what they’re going through,” she said. “I know what it’s like to worry about my water being cut off. I know what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck. So now that I have the means, I want to pay it forward.”

Her house was a safe haven for her sons and their friends growing up.

There were kids who came to their house and ate dinner every night, no questions asked. There were others who stayed there some nights because they didn’t have anywhere else to go.

“If a parent asked me today to welcome their child into my home, my family already knows I would do it,” Jones said. “I’ve taken in kids of all races, colors and creeds.”

Indeed, over the years, including during COVID, she’s taken in several of her students whose parents were struggling and trying to regain their stability.

“It’s been during times when, as a leader, I find out that [the Division of Family Services] is going to come in, and I know the potential that that child has, and I know what’s going to happen to them,” she said. “So if you trust me to be on their safety plan, I’m willing to take them and intervene until you’re on your feet.”

She has bought new clothes for students in need, has picked students up from afterschool activities when their parents couldn’t get them and has even driven a former student to college out of state when they didn’t have a ride.

As for why?

“If not me, then who?” Jones answered.

Of course, she emphasized, she only does those things with permission from the students’ parents or guardians, staying cautious not to cross any boundaries. She also keeps those matters private, between only her and the student and caregiver.

Although she works in Lewes, she still lives in Wilmington and commutes about three hours round trip every day. For her, the drive is well worth it.

When she walks through the Love Creek halls, she’s greeted by smiles, hugs and eager life updates from the students. 

If a student gets worked up or upset, she lets them come into her office, sit or lie down and take some time to regroup and calm down before talking through the situation with them. In times like those, she believes that being punitive isn’t always the best direction to go, and love is the best approach.

“My mantra when I was teaching was, ‘I love you too much to see you fail,’” she said. “Failure is not an option, and anything that I do that does not help you be better is causing you to fail.”

Beyond Cape, Jones advocates for educators and students across the state. She serves as president of the Delaware Association of School Administrators, the Delaware representative for the National Association of Elementary School Principals, president of the Delaware Association of Elementary School Principals and a leader in the field at the Lead IDEA Center.

Through these roles, she works with legislators at the state and national levels, participating in conversations with House and Senate members, informing policymakers about what’s happening in Delaware schools, and advocating for educators and students.

“It’s about making sure that every child has the opportunity to get the respect, the love and the education that they deserve, and not wavering from that,” she said. 

While she understands that her approach isn’t the norm for principals, she said she isn’t a “principal-ly” principal.

She often gets asked how she keeps her career and her personal life separate when she takes on such a parent-like role for her students.

“I’m just there to fill a need,” she said. “I’m almost the principal foster mom, or whatever you want to call it. No one has ever asked me; I just know it’s the right thing to do, and I would do it for anybody.”

The National Life Group has announced three of its 2024-25 award winners, including the grand prize winner, a middle school teacher from Connecticut, but has yet to announce the 14 others. Each will receive an individual cash award and a donation to their school and district.

“It’s very humbling to me,” Jones said about her nomination. “I’m honored to be able to serve my scholars, and I want them to be proud to call me their principal. When I’m gone, I want people to remember me for that love that I gave to my kids, and the fight that I had for them no matter what.”