Dr. Jerry Gaines, a life-long educator, began his career in 1972 at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, Virginia where he taught and coached for twenty-one years.  He spent the next fifteen years as a high school assistant principal (three at the Chesapeake Center for Science and Technology, and twelve at Great Bridge High).  He completed the last three years of his career as a Central Office Supervisor.

Notable achievements include his selection as Teacher of the Year for the Chesapeake School System, Coach of the Year by the Portsmouth Sports Club, and induction into the Hall of Legends by the Chesapeake Sports Club.  Dr. Gaines was the first African-American to earn a full athletic scholarship to Virginia Tech where he still holds two records in track & field.  He is also the first African American to be inducted into the school’s Sports Hall of Fame and has also been inducted into the Hampton Roads African American Sports Hall of Fame.  After college, toward the end of the Viet Nam war, he served his country honorably as an officer in the U.S. Army.

Now retired as an educator, Dr. Gaines travels the country sharing a very profound message that he claims, “a million kids taught HIM.”  As a tribute to those many lives that he has touched, he has written a book entitled “40 Stories High” – a selection of short stories where he shares some of his most moving experiences with a small fraction of the thousands of young people he has taught, coached, and mentored.

His three children, Jina, Jeri, and Jon – are all honor graduates of Virginia Tech.