Andy Jacob

Why are you passionate about education reform?

I was fortunate enough to have a nearly uninterrupted string of great teachers when I was growing up, and I know what a difference that made in my life. Far too many children in this country are missing out on that life-changing experience, though—especially children in poor communities who have the most to gain from a good education. I’ve seen that first-hand through Teach For America and my work with the NYC Department of Education. We need to get to the point in this country where we don’t consider it “lucky” for any student to have great teachers from kindergarten right on through high school. That should be the norm. Until it is, we can’t say we’re really delivering on the promise of public education, which is to give everyone a real chance to be successful in life.

Who was your favorite teacher growing up?

It’s a tie between two of my high school English teachers, Ms. Jeffrey and Ms. Gray. They taught me how to do the kind of writing you need to do in the real world—constructing an argument, making it persuasive, making it concise. More importantly, they showed me that this kind of writing is FUN. Writing is the foundation of communications work, so I owe any success I’ve had in my career to Ms. Jeffrey and Ms. Gray.

What challenges or barriers have you experienced in working education reform?

The debate about education reform has become so polarized that it’s tough to have a productive conversation about it. Take the issue of teacher evaluation, which we often focus on. If you advocate for making evaluations more rigorous or meaningful, you’re likely to be attacked by some people as “anti-teacher.” That’s not a great way to start a conversation about an important topic—how do we make sure teachers are getting the feedback and support they need to do their best work? At TNTP, we’re really good at cutting through the rhetoric and offering common-sense solutions, but it’s not easy in the current political climate.