The Rhode Island Foundation honored Newport educator Jo Eva Gaines with its 2026 Black History Month Award, recognizing her decades of service as a pioneering figure in public education.
The award was presented at the foundation’s annual Black History Month celebration.
“Jo Eva Gaines is a pioneering figure in the world of public education. At a time when there were few Black educators, she was a role model and someone who opened doors for generations to come after her,” said David N. Cicilline, the foundation’s president and CEO.
Gaines’ career in education spans several decades and multiple states. She taught music in Georgia, South Carolina and Middletown before transitioning into guidance counseling, eventually serving as director of guidance for Middletown Public Schools. She later worked as an academic advisor at Salve Regina University.
Her leadership in education governance has been equally extensive. Gaines previously served as vice chair of the Newport School Committee, where she chaired the Building Committee and the Strategic Planning Sub-committee and sat on the Policy Sub-committee. She also served on the executive board of the R.I. Association of School Committees, holding the roles of president, secretary treasurer and vice president. She previously served as secretary and vice chair of the R.I. Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education from 1985 to 2005.
In accepting the honor, Gaines credited collaboration as the foundation of her success.
“I am so honored to have been chosen to receive this award. I have always been a promoter of collaboration. If I have been successful, collaboration is the key. No one can accomplish anything worthwhile alone,” she said. “I have done nothing alone.”
Beyond her professional career, Gaines has been active in the community as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the Women’s Newport League and an alumnae member of Links Inc. At St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, she serves as a Eucharistic minister and lector and is a past president of the parish council.
She also served on the board of directors of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, the R.I. Commission on Women, Big Sisters R.I., Brown University’s Annenberg Institute Urban Education Task Force, several advisory boards for education evaluation and funding, and the R.I. School Building Task Force led by U.S. Rep. and former General Treasurer Seth Magaziner.
Her previous honors include the NAACP Outstanding Educator Award, the R.I. Association of School Committees’ Howard Kay Award for Outstanding School Committee Service and the R.I. School Superintendents’ Association’s Paul Crowley Award.
Gaines began her studies in music education at Xavier University in New Orleans before earning a B.A. in education from Salve Regina University, an M.A. in guidance and counseling from Providence College, and a certificate of advanced graduate study in career counseling and secondary administration from Bridgewater State College. She has four children and two grandsons, and was married for 63 years to the late Paul L. Gaines Sr.
The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in the state.