AHEAD School - Empowering Young Minds

Jean Mays O'Neal is the Founder and Program Director of the Alameda Heights Elite Academy program under the umbrella of the Alameda Heights Outreach Foundation. She has over 20 years in education. She prides herself on coming from a family of educators, in which her mother, father, sister, and brother are also in the educational field.

Her love for the arts started in elementary school when she participated in choir and theater. She continued choir in middle school and, thereafter, auditioned and was accepted to attend Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. It was there that she locked in her love for choir and theater. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance at Prairie View A&M University.

She has performed as a solo vocalist in operas and musical theater productions and participated in masterclasses with well-known vocal coaches and conductors. She has also been a private voice instructor since college and has directed musical theater productions for children and youth for nonprofit organizations in the Dallas and Houston areas for many summers.

Her career in education began in Dallas, Texas, and later in the Houston, Texas, area. In the public school sector, she has served as a Choral Director. Many of her students have participated in solo and choral competitions and received superior ratings and sweepstakes. In the private sector, she has served as the Academic Director for the Alameda Heights Trade School, an alternative high school diploma program in Partnership with YouthBuild Dallas.

She holds a Master's in Education Administration/Supervision and is certified in Music EC-12 and  Principal PK-12. She loves spending time with her family, serving on the worship team at her church, and singing with community ensembles.