Jason E. Glass is commissioner and chief learner at the
Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).
Glass, a native of
Brandenburg, Ky., has been commissioner of education since September 2020. He
previously was superintendent and chief learner of Jeffco Public Schools in
Colorado since 2017 and was superintendent of Eagle County Schools in Colorado
from 2013 to 2017.
After receiving a
bachelor’s degree in political science in 1994, Glass earned a master’s degree
in education in 1996 and a master’s in political science in 2007 from the
University of Kentucky (UK). He later received his doctorate in education
leadership in 2011 from Seton Hall University and a certificate in advanced
education leadership from Harvard University in 2019.
Glass began his teaching
career as a high school social studies teacher from 1996 to 1998 in Hazard, Ky.
While a graduate student, he served as an instructor at UK and Georgetown
College. From 2001 to 2006 he held senior positions with the Colorado
Department of Education, then worked as vice president of quality ratings for
Qualistar Early Learning. He
later served as Iowa’s chief state school officer from 2010 to 2013 and was
superintendent of Eagle County Public Schools in Colorado from 2013 to 2017.
In
2016, President Barack Obama nominated Glass to the National Board for
Education Sciences. He has received numerous awards for his work including: the
2019 Frank D’Angelis Inspiration Award; 2018 Jefferson County Administrators’
Association Leadership Award; 2017 Jefferson County Administrators’ Association
Frazen Award for Innovation in Education; Columbine Masonic Lodge No. 147’s
2017 Denver Founder’s Award for Education Stewardship; 2016 Walking Mountains
Science Center President’s Award for Leadership in Bilingual Education; 2016 Colorado
Association of Bilingual Educators Advocacy Award for Advocacy for Language Education;
Dual Language of New Mexico; Nominated in 2016 and 2019 for Colorado
Superintendent of the Year; and Christian Science Monitor’s 8 School Chiefs to
Watch, 2018’s #1 State Education Chief to Watch.
Glass
is an avid mountain biker and alpine skier and enjoys camping and
playing/listening to all kinds of music. He and his wife Sarah - who worked as
a teacher for 17 years - have two children, Norah and Chase, and a dog, Sunny.
Both children attend Fayette County Public Schools.