John Spence

John Spence is a Program Associate with SEDL's Education Systems Support (ESS) program. As the state liaison for the Texas Comprehensive Center (TXCC), Mr. Spence develops and maintains relationships with staff of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in order to facilitate the implementation and administration of programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and to strengthen the Agency’s capacity to implement programs and initiatives aligned to the priorities of the U.S. Department of Education. He also leads projects in support of these goals, including the Expanded Learning Opportunities Council and the Principal Evaluation and Support System (co-lead), and he serves as a team member on the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System and the Texas Teacher Mentoring Advisory Committee projects.

Mr. Spence’s interests include leadership, school culture, professional learning communities, systems thinking, change process, blended learning, service-learning, environmental education, formative assessment, appreciative inquiry, behavioral interviewing, strengths-based development, facilitation and presentation skills, and the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM).

• Leadership: Mr. Spence has more than 16 years of experience directing large-scale, statewide initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and partners. Under his leadership, Service Learning Texas, a statewide initiative of Region 14 Education Service Center and the Texas Education Agency (TEA), was recognized as an exemplary program in the state and nation because of its innovative professional development offerings, practical curriculum frameworks, and strong grants management practices. Mr. Spence represented TEA as the State Coordinator for the Learn and Serve America program for 14 years at state and national meetings, provided testimony before committees of the State Legislature, participated in the state Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service, and provided reports to federal staff and elected officials. He also played significant roles with several state and national boards, including the National Service-Learning Partnership, the State Education Agency K-12 Service-Learning Network, and the Texas Association of Partners in Education. He is a graduate of the Leadership Austin Essential Class of 2007.
• Family and Community: As a national leader in service-learning, Mr. Spence leveraged resources and designed programs to engage thousands of students, teachers, partners, and parents in thoughtful learning and meaningful service in in-school and out-of-school settings. He helped establish the Texas Healthy Habitats program, a 3-year partnership of Service Learning Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Encana Oil and Gas (USA), Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), and the Texas Stream Team in which students in grades 5 through 12 worked with environmental professionals to conduct carefully designed service-learning projects that addressed critical habitat issues identified in the Texas Conservation Action Plan. He also partnered with Texas Family, Community, and Career Leaders of America (FCCLA) and the Career Center for Family and Community Services at Texas Tech University to create a guide for teachers, students, and family members, Planning and Implementing Significant Service-Learning.
• Change Process: Mr. Spence made significant modifications to the Learn and Serve America grant to help support school change efforts, build strong school cultures, and sustain effective practices. He used insights from service-learning research and annual program evaluations to inform technical assistance strategies and professional development offerings. He led efforts to create the Summer Service-Learning Institute, which provided professional development in service-learning and change strategies to hundreds of participants over a nine-year period. He focused particular attention on district-level change processes, including supports for service-learning coordinators and lead teachers, progress monitoring, and implementation of process and quality standards. As a result, many districts continue to implement service-learning programming years after their grant funding ceased. He was effective in creating systemic change at the state level as well, working with Texas FCCLA to establish the Week of Service Learning, an annual spring event that engages seniors in community-oriented learning activities during STAAR testing week, and supporting the transition of the Texas Healthy Habitats program into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Before joining SEDL in February 2014, Mr. Spence was the director of enrollment at Reasoning Mind, a Houston-based nonprofit that supports early algebraic readiness through blended learning, rigorous curriculum, and teacher professional development. From 2001 to 2012, Mr. Spence was an associate director at Region 14 Education Service Center (ESC) and the director of Service Learning Texas, a statewide initiative of Region 14 ESC and the Texas Education Agency. In this capacity he served on behalf of TEA as the state coordinator of the federal Learn and Serve America program, which provided grants, technical assistance, and professional development in service-learning, project-based learning, and place-based learning strategies to school districts and ESCs. Mr. Spence also led the Learn and Serve program for TEA while a project director at the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin from 1997 to 2001. He previously worked as an education specialist at TEA, and he has provided independent consulting services to a variety of clients in service-learning, organizational change, behavioral interviewing, and strengths-based development.

Mr. Spence has a MA in history from Indiana University (IU), Bloomington, where he also completed the requirements for PhD candidacy in modern Russian and European history. He received an International Research and Exchanges Council (IREX) fellowship, a Fulbright-Hays fellowship, and a Social Sciences Research Council fellowship while at IU, where he also served as graduate assistant in the Department of History and an editorial assistant with the American Historical Review. He holds a BA in history with high honors from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where he graduated cum laude, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, received a Charles A. Dana scholarship, and was selected as the college’s nominee for the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships.