State’s new education commissioner is a Colorado superintendent who is a KY native

A Colorado school superintendent from Kentucky will become the state’s next commissioner of education.

The Kentucky Board of Education on Friday announced the hiring of Jason Glass, 48, a native of Brandenburg. Glass has been serving as superintendent and chief learner for Jeffco (Colorado) Public Schools in the metro Denver area since 2017. It is Colorado’s second largest school district. Prior to that, Glass headed Iowa schools.

“Dr. Glass was identified by the board as our next commissioner following a very extensive and productive national search,” said Lu Young, chair of the Kentucky Board of Education. “Throughout this process I have been overwhelmed by the integrity of the process and the quality of applicants for the position of commissioner.

“Dr. Glass’ extensive experience, including having served as the chief state school officer in Iowa and as a school superintendent with urban, suburban and rural school communities, along with a strategic vision and a track record for moving a school transformation agenda at the state policy level combine to make him a great fit for the Commonwealth.”

Kevin C. Brown is currently serving as interim commissioner of education. When he was hired the board agreed to Brown’s request that he would not be considered a candidate for the permanent position. Brown has been serving in the role since December, when Wayne Lewis resigned under pressure from a board of education appointed by newly elected Gov. Andy Beshear.

“My first action as governor was to overhaul the Kentucky Board of Education by reorganizing it with members who believe in our educators and our public schools – and today, after a national search, the board selected a new leader not based on politics, but on his vision for improving our public schools,” Beshear said Friday. “We welcome Dr. Jason Glass, our state’s new commissioner of education, back to Kentucky. Dr. Glass has deep roots in Kentucky education, and his years of public education experience in classrooms, as superintendent and state director of education will help ensure our children come first. Congratulations – now it’s time to get to work.”

Earlier this week, the board appointed by Beshear conducted second-round interviews with the three candidates in Louisville.

The other finalists were Julian Vasquez Heilig, Ph.D. who currently serves as the dean of the College of Education and professor of educational policy studies and evaluation at the University of Kentucky and Felicia Cumings Smith, Ed.D who currently serves as the assistant superintendent of teaching and learning in Jefferson County (Kentucky) Public Schools.

Glass said he still had to serve 60 days on his contract in Colorado, but he will do some work for the Kentucky Department of Education this summer and then come to work in early September.

Glass told the Herald-Leader his priority is going to be on safely reopening schools , which closed abruptly in Kentucky in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Anyone who believes they know what that is going to be like is overstating what they really can say,” he said. Glass said people will have to adapt and learn as conditions shift.

He said there is serious work to be done around anti-racism and equity that school districts all across the country including in Kentucky need to take on.

Longer term, Glass said, the state needs to have a conversation around its aspirations for its children and what it would like its school system to be, “reimagining education and thinking about what changes we could make to prepare our students for their future.”

Prior to the job in Denver, Glass served as the superintendent of Eagle County Schools in Colorado and as Iowa’s Director of Education, serving as the chief state school officer from 2010-2013. Glass held several posts with the Colorado Department of Education; and worked as a university instructor while a graduate student at the University of Kentucky, teaching at UK and Georgetown College. Later, Glass earned his doctorate in education leadership from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He also holds a certificate in advanced education leadership from Harvard. He began his teaching career as a high school social studies teacher for Hazard Independent Schools where he coached football and track.

Glass grew up in Bradenburgh, the middle child of Meade County teachers Jim and JoAnn Glass. His grandmother was also a teacher. His sister, Jennifer, is currently a teacher in Metcalfe County, and his brother, Greg, works as an assistant director of transmission systems at Kentucky Educational Television, state officials said.

A 1990 graduate of Meade County High School, Glass attended the University of Kentucky where he earned a bachelor’s in political science and history in 1994 and then completed a master’s in teaching in 1996.

Glass said in an article on the Kentucky Department of Education website that his time as a Colorado superintendent has taught him that “education is political, but it doesn’t have to be divisive.”

He said his family -- his wife Sarah was teaching when the two met -- was happy in Colorado and he had just started a new five-year contract with the district. But he said he couldn’t pass up the chance to apply for the education commissioner post in Kentucky.

“I felt like in this point in my life I had enough experience and something to give back to my home state, the place that gave so much to me growing up,” he said.

His two children, 8-year-old Norah and 7-year-old Chase, will attend a Kentucky public school that’s still to be determined in the fall. His wife, an educator of several years, is considering getting certified as a teacher in Kentucky and going to work in the state, Glass said.

Glass’ contract is still under negotiation so state officials did not immediately provide his salary Friday.

“...Amid both the COVID-19 pandemic and a national awakening on systemic racism, we need a strong leader who can strengthen our education outcomes in this critical time in our history, and Dr. Glass appears to have all the right qualifications for this weighty task,” said Brigitte Blom Ramsey, President & CEO of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence. “Kentucky’s schools have simply failed to deliver for students of color, and it is imperative that Dr. Glass owns this truth and uses all available tools to close belief gaps, opportunity gaps, academic achievement gaps, and excellence gaps.”

“Dr. Glass has a proven record of fighting for public schools and will help lead the way in developing more equity and opportunity for every Kentucky student,” said Eddie Campbell, president of the 44,000-member Kentucky Education Association.

This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 11:51 AM.