Dr. Stanley L. Johnson, Jr. is the National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Director and an educational consultant, researcher, and practitioner with an extensive background in K-12 leadership, teacher education, and language and literacy development. Johnson previously served as consultant for the Los Angeles County Office of Education (in School Improvement, District Capacity Building, and Curriculum and Instructional Services) and a Managing Director of Teacher Leadership Development for Teach for America where he supported and built capacity with Program Improvement schools and districts in the areas of effective language arts instruction and Common Core State Standards (CCSS) through professional development, coaching, and providing technical assistance to educational leaders and classroom teachers. Johnson was the Founding Principal of the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area Community School in Oakland, CA and he began his career in education through Teach for America, where he taught all levels of English/Language Arts and Advanced Placement English at Centennial High School in Compton, CA. Johnson was awarded a promotion to Program Coordinator, a district office administrative position in curriculum and instruction, after successfully serving as Centennial’s Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Self-Study Chairperson and getting the school’s accreditation reinstated.
With respect to academic research, Johnson critically examines effective secondary English teachers who implement culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogical and instructional practices in their classrooms to close literacy gaps and address the academic, social, and emotional needs of their students. Johnson is particularly interested in how Advanced Placement English teachers facilitate high levels of engagement for their high achieving boys of color (and especially African American males) by ensuring that they have access and exposure to language and literacies of power.
Johnson received his Ph.D. in Urban Schooling from the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA, his Master of Arts in Secondary Education along with clear teaching and administrative credentials from Loyola Marymount University, and his Bachelor of Arts in American Literature and Culture with college honors from UCLA.
