Researcher Bios:

John’s research interests are wide-ranging, but his recent work has focused on the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on state standards, equity and the measurement of student growth. In addition to leading the Center and pursuing his own research, John provides consultation related to testing and support to organizations including the Walton Family Foundation, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Teach for America and the KIPP foundation. He has broad prior experience in education, serving for 15 years as a high school teacher, coach and school administrator. He also spent nearly 10 years as a consultant to schools in improvement and assessment prior to pursuing his research career. John holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Gonzaga University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Studies from Emory University.

What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?

I was a high school teacher and debate coach for the first 13 years of my career, and I still cherish those years. I was very fortunate to get to work with many talented and kind students, and any small contribution I made to their success is far and away my greatest accomplishment.

If you could live anywhere, where would that be?

My needs are simple. The $2.5 million penthouse overlooking Portland’s PGE Park (soon to be home of Major League Soccer’s Timbers) would meet most of my needs. Absent this, I could get by with a $1 million home on the Oregon coast.

What intrigues you most about the work you do?

One of the things I most enjoyed about being a debater and later coaching it, was the opportunity it offered to investigate important policy questions and learn the advocacy skills needed to make my perspectives on these questions compelling. Our work at the Kingsbury Center is quite similar. We get to engage with important questions that impact schools, and that is my passion. It’s also offered me, personally, a chance to use and further develop my skills as an advocate. So in a sense, I get to recreate all the fun of my adolescence, without the teenage angst and acne.

What are your three favorite things to do when you’re not working?

I’ve developed an interest in photography and I enjoy hitting the road with my camera and the various other accoutrements that photo-geeks seem to acquire. I maintain my own website (www.northwestcolors.net) and have had some of my photographs in juried competitions, which has been a helpful learning experience. My two daughters are entering college in the next couple of years and I seem to intrude on their college selection process in the way most mothers intrude on their daughters’ weddings. It’s very annoying for the daughters, which makes it even more entertaining and rewarding for me. And I follow four sports clubs: Gonzaga basketball, the Blazers, the Timbers and the Sutherland Black Cats of the English Premier League.

What do you feel is the role of education in our society?

Educators work as partners with parents to help students acquire the foundation that they’ll need to fulfill their aspirations in career, civic and family life. Once all our students fully fulfill all these aspirations we’re done.