Too often, the words “Washington, D.C.” and “public schools” are the precursor to another bout of bad press for the District. Not today – for the first time in the contest’s history, a teacher from the District of Columbia has been named Teacher of the Year. The lucky winner is Jason Kamras, 31, math teacher at John Phillip Sousa Middle School. Kamras received his Bachelor’s Degree from Princeton University and his Master’s from Harvard. His desire to teach in an urban school district began during his stint as a volunteer in the Sacramento Unified School District, which “convinced” him that “limited access to well-funded, high quality schools for economically disadvantaged students is the greatest social injustice facing America today.”
Kamras takes particular pride working for Sousa Middle School. Citing the 1954 Supreme Court case Bolling v. Sharpe, which began as a segregation fight at Sousa and eventually led to the desegregration of DC’s Public Schools, Kamras accords a certain amount of his drive to the school’s place in Washington’s history: “To honor the school’s unique role in the movement, I feel compelled to guarantee that it serves as an agent of social change, advancing those who have been ignored or constrained.”
Kamras has had a palpable impact at Sousa. He’s installed innovative programs that have raised math achievement — according to the Washington Post, Kamras efforts have sliced into the “number of students scoring below basic comprehension from 80 percent to 40 percent.” He’s got students enrolled in early-bird math classes and algebra prep. He’s started a photography program that has brought high-tech opportunity into the classroom along with grant money. One former Sousa colleague says of Kamras: “I can honestly say Sousa would not run effectively without Jason.” For his part, Kamras says simply, “I’m incredibly proud to be a DCPS teacher.” The feeling, we’re sure, is mutual. The National Teacher of the Year Award is adminstered by the Council of Chief State School Officers. The only photo we could find of Kamras online was from this award he received in 2003.
