Execs, Families Thrive in Local Schools

Benjamin G. Boynton is the parent of fourth-generation students of schools in Palm Beach County. He attended Cardinal Newman, and went off to earn his degree in finance from the University of Florida. His children attended public schools through eighth grade, which prepared them well in their high school classes at Oxbridge Academy, from visionary founder Bill Koch.

Benjamin G. Boynton

Today, Boynton is a certified financial planner and branch manager with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. His son earned his pilot’s license before enrolling in Georgia Tech for aerospace engineering, and returning to Palm Beach County to work with aerospace leader Aerojet Rocketdyne. His daughter is in the New Studio on Broadway at New York University, with a double major in musical theater and journalism.

“I absolutely believe we have some of the best schools in the country, right here in Palm Beach County,” Boynton said.

Frank Baker

Since arriving here from New York during the pandemic, Frank Baker, the co-founder and managing partner of Siris, a leading private equity firm focused on technology and telecommunications companies, has found the educational options were just what his family needed.

His long commute to work has been replaced with extra time spent with his kids or on the sidelines at their various games. He also realized the local educational options created a solid pool of workforce talent that will help Siris grow. And those grade schools help attract executive talent to the market, too.

From lifestyle to education, “I thought there was no better place to raise a family than New York,” he said. “But I was wrong.”

Daniel Cane

Daniel Cane grew up in Wellington and Lake Worth. He “proudly” attended Lake Worth High School, earned the rank of Cadet Lt. Colonel Air Force JROTC—and student council president.

Upon graduation in 1994, Cane went off to Cornell University to earn his degree in applied economics. In his senior year, he co-founded educational platform CourseInfo LLC, which later merged with Blackboard LLC—and sold for $1.6 billion in 2011.

Cane traces part of his success back to his public school education in Palm Beach County.  He was challenged with honors and AP classes, and as the parent of kids who also attended public schools, he knows those opportunities still exist today. This bodes well for Cane, who today runs electronic medical records platform Modernizing Medicine. His company hires interns and employees versed in STEM disciplines from, among other schools, Florida Atlantic University, where Cane sits on the Board of Trustees and helped create the Cane Institute for Advanced Technologies at A.D. Henderson / FAU High School.

“As an employer, our county’s current public and private offerings are exceptional,” he said. “Many people outside of the region know our private schools are some of the best in the country, but they might not know that our public schools rank just as high.”