Growing up as the daughter of a school principal, Shauntay King knew one thing for certain: She didn’t want to follow her mother into the family business. “I was like, I’m never going into education,” King recalls. “Not that [Mom] didn’t enjoy it—she loved it, and to this day, I see adults love on her. But as a child, as an outsider looking in, I also saw the amount of time that sometimes it took away from the family, because she had to be there for her students and her staff.”
Despite those initial misgivings—and even majoring in Criminal Justice at Florida A&M University—King has found herself following in Mom’s footsteps, assuming the position of principal of Delray Beach’s Pine Grove Elementary School in 2016. To say the career has suited her is an understatement. This past January, her efforts to transform Pine Grove’s scholastics paid off when she won Principal of the Year at the fourth-annual Celebrate the Great Awards from the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County and the School District of Palm Beach County. She was one of five educators who netted trophies (and $2,000 cash prizes) that night, out of a potential pool of 24,000 hardworking public school professionals.
“It really felt amazing, and just the sense of pride that I have is indescribable,” she says, from her cheery, trinket-filled office at Pine Grove, where she is surrounded by motivational cards and signage that speak to her mission: “Today is a good day to start making a difference,” “Never give up,” “Always choose kindness,” “She believed she could, so she did,” “Be a warrior.”
“Shauntay King is a visionary leader whose dedication to her students and staff has transformed Pine Grove into a model of academic success,” says James Gavrilos, president and CEO of the Education Foundation. “Under her leadership, student reading proficiency has made incredible strides, and the implementation of the Accelerated Math Program has set a new standard for excellence. Her commitment to creating opportunities for every student to thrive is truly inspiring, and this recognition as Principal of the Year is well deserved.”
Born in Tallahassee and raised in the Palm Beaches—she’s a graduate of JFK Middle School and Suncoast High in Riviera Beach—King arrived in Pine Grove, her first principal position, following a seven-year stint as assistant principal of Heritage Elementary in Greenacres. She quickly gleaned the pluses and minuses of running the Title I school, in which 79% of the student body came from low-income households.
“There was a family here,” she says. “Our staff did a good job of working together, helping each other, pitching in and doing whatever it is that needed to be done. I met with every staff member … and as I spoke to them, I ended with a question as to, what is something that’s going really well here, and you don’t want me to change; and what is something that you feel like really needs some work?”
Student behavior and systems of instruction arose as major factors contributing to the school’s subpar academics; at the time of King’s arrival, third-grade reading scores were at 16%. King’s contributions, which included an overhaul of the school’s instructional blocks and a strengthening of its professional learning communities, have elevated those scores to 56%. In 2021, she implemented the aforementioned Accelerated Math Program (AMP). All students in the school’s first AMP class passed sixth grade advanced math, and scored at least a level three or higher on the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking, a statewide standardized assessment. In Pine Grove’s 2025 rankings from U.S. News and World Report, it scored “Well Above Expectations” in reading and math.
King also boosted some of the less tangible aspects of running a school, such as student morale. “I believe our students love to come here,” she says. “They seem very happy.”
At the time of our interview, she had just visited nearby Carver High for a meeting. “Carver is a big feeder school for us, and I went to Carver, and I saw quite a few of our students. They literally ran to me. I received hugs. One girl held my hand for a few minutes—just the love I was shown. I got an email from a student just last week. She’s in middle school, and she congratulated me [on the award], and she felt like I deserved it. This is a sixth-grader, and she was able to articulate that.
“Our students know that we really love them and care for them, and hopefully provide opportunities to them.”
This story is from the Summer 2025 issue of Delray magazine.
