This week on the podcast, Tom Vander Ark interviews Dr. Jason Glass, the Superintendent of Jeffco Public Schools!

Serving 84,000 students, Jefferson County is the largest district in Colorado. It encompasses 800 square miles and serves urban, suburban, and rural communities west of Denver. Before Jeffco, Dr. Glass served as Superintendent at Eagle County School and District for four years. And prior to that, he served as the Chief State School Officer for the Iowa Department of Education. Dr. Glass has promoted deeper learning across the 155 site-based diverse school options in Jefferson County.

Dr. Glass was able to anticipate the pandemic closure, so he developed a plan and shared it with his team. Then, on March 13th, when schools closed in Colorado, people knew what to do at Jeffco and the transition to remote learning was relatively seamless for both learners and teachers.

In this episode, Tom and Dr. Jason Glass discuss Jefferson County's transition to remote learning, how they overcame the challenges associated with school closures, what their strategic vision for the future of Jeffco looks like, and the lessons Dr. Glass has learned as Superintendent.

Key Takeaways:

[:10] About today's show.

[1:01] Tom welcomes Jason to the podcast!

[1:08] Jason shares how he first become a social studies teacher in Hazard, KY.

[2:55] Jason speaks about his career at the Colorado Department of Education in the early 2000s.

[4:12] Jason shares about his time as Director of Human Resources at Eagle County Schools.

[5:53] Jason explains how he landed the role of Chief State School Officer for the Iowa Department of Education; what brought him back to the Eagle County School District afterward; and finally, how he became Superindent of Jeffco Public Schools.

[8:30] Tom and Jason talk about the large student population that Jeffco serves.

[10:18] Jason speaks about how he developed his agenda at Jeffco and what became his priorities in such a large district.

[13:50] What does Jason hope to see when he visits a Jeffco elementary school?

[17:24] Jessica shares an important resource with listeners: the Getting Through microsite.

[18:03] Jason speaks about their experience switching to remote learning when they closed schools in Colorado.

[21:55] What is it going to look like once they open schools back up? What challenges will be present and how will they overcome them?

[25:32] Jason speaks about what kinds of new options Jeffco's communities will want and form, going forward.

[28:52] Tom thanks Jason for his leadership at Jeffco and for joining the podcast!

[19:16] Where to learn more about Jeffco and read more about their strategic vision.

Mentioned in This Episode:

GettingSmart.com/GettingThrough

Jason Glass

Jason Glass' Twitter: @COJasonGlass

Jeffco Public Schools

Jeffco Generations

For More on School Districts Making the Successful Transition to Remote Learning, Check Out:

Getting Smart Ep. 250: "Tom Rooney and Scott Rowe: Buildings are Closed, Learning Goes on!"

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