The NIU College of Education and the NIU Center for P-20 Engagement in the Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development are embarking on a new partnership to maximize the university’s impact on learners of all ages in Illinois schools, community colleges, workplaces and communities.
Leading that effort is Jason Klein, who has been named senior director of Education Partnerships and Learning Solutions and is serving both units equally.
In his role with the College of Education, Klein will connect credit and non-credit programs to address current challenges such as teacher shortages and the need for more real-world, project-based learning. He then will manage the development and implementation of those strategic initiatives and solutions.
He also will work collaboratively to provide guidance and support to off-campus academic programs and to non-credit professional learning opportunities and networking in the P-20 Center.
Klein brings with him more than 25 years of experience in demographically diverse public school districts and an intimate knowledge of the current landscape.
“We have limited resources at all levels of public education,” said Klein, who joined the Center for P-20 Engagement in 2019 as director of P-20 Initiatives, “so ensuring that resources are most effectively going toward the levers that we want to pull – those with the biggest impact on students – is the first thing that interested me in this position.”
Accomplishing this goal begins with listening to teachers and school administrators, added Klein, who values teaming with “other educators from all levels who are committed to ensure success for our students in their futures.”
Prior to NIU, he worked in Wheeling-based Community Consolidated School District 21, Park Ridge-based Maine Township High School District 207 and Palatine-based Community Consolidated School District 15, serving in various roles that included teacher, principal, director and assistant superintendent.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to build this integrated team across the College of Education and across the Division of Outreach that can really make things happen both internally within the university and then externally for all of our current and future partners,” he said.
“One of the things I found in the job I’ve been doing since I arrived at NIU that I didn’t expect is the degree to which I would be a matchmaker – that some of the most fun, exciting and important work would be hearing from one school district and then saying, ‘Yes, I can answer questions for you, but there’s someone else you really need to talk to who’s doing this.’ ”
His supervisors on both sides expect great results from this investment in preparedness of educators.
Laurie Elish-Piper, dean of the NIU College of Education, calls Klein a “gifted communicator” whose “unique skill set” allows him to work effectively across multiple sectors. His connections with the Illinois State Board of Education also will allow the college to leverage grant opportunities that yield more meaningful contributions, she said.
“I am excited to have Jason on board because he is a fabulous collaborator – innovative, creative and solutions-oriented,” Elish-Piper said. “Jason has a deep and rich understanding of how P-12 schools work, and he has a network of relationships that span not just school districts but professional associations as well.”
Those school districts “will be better served in upskilling their workforce with the degrees and qualifications they need to acquire,” she added. “And in doing that, I think they will better serve P-12 students with more highly qualified teachers and school leaders who understand new methods and approaches.”
Rena Cotsones, chief engagement officer and senior associate vice president of the NIU Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development, and Amy Jo Clemens, director of the Center for P-20 Engagement, share the dean’s excitement.
“The Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development is delighted to deepen the relationship that we’ve already built between the Center for P-20 Engagement and the College of Education,” Cotsones said.
“Dr. Jason Klein is the perfect person to forge this deeper collaboration and shared engagement since he brings to bear deep knowledge and experience in P-20 educational systems at all levels along with extensive experience in research and state policy development.”
Clemens, meanwhile, credits Klein for the growth of the Illinois P-20 Network, a collaboration of community colleges P-12 districts , educational advocacy groups and state agencies convened by NIU to address barriers in our educational systems that jeopardize student college and career success.
He began by bringing in new members from across Illinois, including other four-year institutions, to create a truly statewide organization.
Next, Clemens said, “he expanded the portfolio of work in the network to include externally funded research and brought in faculty across College of Education departments such as Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations; Counseling and Higher Education; and Curriculum and Instruction to complete the projects.”
Finally, she said, Elish-Piper accepted a joint chairmanship of the network that magnified the network’s focus on addressing the teacher shortage.
“I believe this new joint-appointment is the next step in deepening the connections between the P-20 Center and College of Education,” Clemens said, “and I welcome new innovative thinking, even greater partnership and, ultimately, lasting impact on our P-20 educational system in Illinois.”
The son of two teachers, Klein holds an NIU Ed.S. in Educational Administration along with degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Illinois State University (where in 2001 he earned his Ph.D. in Education Administration, School Law, School Finance, Educational Policy).
His instructional focus has been on transforming learning opportunities for all students so that they benefit from differentiated and challenging problem-based learning.
“When students are challenged with real-life problems that they are really solving – not just for their teacher or for a test or quiz – they are motivated to learn,” Klein said. “Once you’ve seen that in action, it’s pretty hard to unsee.”
Now, he said, one of his goals is helping other teachers to reach that point.
“It’s very challenging in education because everybody’s an ‘expert’ in school. It was done to us for 13 years at a minimum – maybe longer – and so you have to unlearn that first,” he said.
“And that is very hard, especially for most of us who’ve been teachers because most of us were people who did pretty well in school, and that might not have been the experience of all of our classmates,” he added. “Unless we really learn to unlearn that, subconsciously we’re going to redo those same things to our students and continue to perpetuate that cycle. Teaching is a highly complex job.”
