Jason Kamras

Jason Kamras, 2005 Teacher of the Year, and President George W. Bush in the White House Rose Garden.
Rose Garden ceremony honoring the National Teacher of the Year Jason Kamras, April 20, 2005.

Jason Kamras (b. New York City, New York) was selected as the 2005 National Teacher of the Year. He now serves as the Chief of the Office of Instructional Practice in D.C. Public Schools,[1] and was an adviser on education policy to the Barack Obama presidential campaign. Before that, he served as a seventh and eight grade mathematics teacher at John Philip Sousa Middle School in Washington, D.C. for eight years.

As Chief of the Office of Instructional Practice (OIP), Mr. Kamras leads DC Public Schools' efforts to ensure that every student, regardless of background, experiences engaging, rigorous, and joyful instruction, every single day. As part of this work, Mr. Kamras recently launced an innovative new approach to teacher development called LEAP (LEarning together to Advance our Practice). LEAP is built around small, subject-specific professional learning communities that engage in a weekly cycle of lesson planning, lesson practicing, and lesson observation and feedback. Mr. Kamras also recently launched a new set of instructional standards for DCPS teachers designed to promote greater equity across the district. Called the Essential Practices, these new standards emphasize inclusivity, rigor, student voice, and student engagement. As Chief of the Office of Instructional Practice, Mr. Kamras manages an office of approximately 110 full time employees and a budget of roughly $20 million. His Office guides the coaching work of approximately 500 school-based assistant principals, instructional coaches, and teacher-leaders.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Kamras served as the Chief of Human Capital for DCPS, overseeing the district’s efforts to attract and retain outstanding teachers, principals, and central office staff. His work in the human capital field includes the design and implementation of a number of key district initiatives, such as the IMPACT teacher and principal evaluation system, the IMPACTplus performance-based compensation system, the LIFT teacher career ladder, and the Patterson Fellowship for aspiring principals. Mr. Kamras also launched, in partnership with Georgetown University, the district’s first Executive Master’s in Leadership (EML) program for sitting principals. 2015 PARCC (state assessment) data indicates that EML graduates’ schools outperformed those of other principals in both reading and mathematics. Mr. Kamras also helped negotiate the district's groundbreaking 2007-12 contract with the Washington Teachers’ Union.

Before joining the DC Public Schools' central office, Mr. Kamras taught mathematics for eight years at John Philip Sousa Middle School in DCPS. Mr. Kamras began teaching at Sousa Middle School in 1996 as a member of Teach For America and, he piloted changes in the mathematics curriculum that helped increase the percentage of students scoring on grade level on the Stanford 9 test from 20% to 60% in one year, the largest gain in school history.[2]He successfully lobbied Sousa administrators to double the amount of class time spent on math.[3] After teaching at Sousa Middle School for nine years, Mr. Kamras was named the United States National Teacher of the Year in 2005.

While at Sousa Middle School, Mr. Kamras founded the EXPOSE camera club,[4] which helped incorporate the arts, specifically digital photography, into instruction to help students depict their lives. This project earned him the Mayor's Art Award for Outstanding Contributions to Arts Education.

Kamras views teachers as civil rights activists. Sousa was segregated until a 1954 challenge to its status led to the desegregation of DC public schools. "To honor the school's unique role in the movement, I feel compelled to guarantee that it serves as an agent of social change, advancing those who have been ignored or constrained," he says.

Mr. Kamras holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Princeton University (graduating summa cum laude) and a master’s degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2000.[4]

His wife Miwa also works in the field of public education, and he has two sons, Ezra and Akiva, who are DCPS students.

References

  1. ↑ "Teach For America program sends hundreds of teachers to Washington-area schools". Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  2. ↑ "Kamras is More than Just the Teacher of the Year". Harvard University.
  3. ↑ "Jason Kamras". Council of Chief State School Officers.
  4. 1 2 "Jason Kamras". Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

External links

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