Mary Jane Morris
Mary Jane Morris, Executive Director of the Consortium for Educational Change, has had a varied 25-year career in education. Most recently, she has served as the Instructional Resource and Professional Development Director for the Illinois Education Association. In March of 2011, she was appointed as CEC Executive Director. Her work with the Consortium for Educational Change, a nonprofit organization, supports schools and districts through ongoing collaboration with teachers, administrators, school board members and union leaders to improve student learning and achievement.
Morris began her professional life as a high school chemistry teacher in 1986. She spent the next two decades providing high quality instruction to students emphasizing their ability to be college and career ready. Dedicated to the teaching profession as a National Board Certified Teacher while providing leadership among her peers and focusing on student success. She joined the Illinois Education Association (IEA) in 2004, serving first as an advocate for member rights, then as a project organizer for school funding reform concentrating on fair funding for all. Moving into the position as Instructional Resource and Professional Development Director, Morris designed and delivered training for the organization’s staff and members focusing on educational initiatives impacting it’s 100,000 plus members.
In that role, Morris organized and led a successful mentoring consortium; collaborating with multiple rural school districts. The consortium provided ongoing support for new teachers entering into the profession by incorporating high quality training with rigor including effective practices, accountability and training for their administrators and mentors. Morris a longtime advocate for new teacher induction and mentoring joined the state induction and mentoring policy workgroup early in her career with IEA where she has led and supported the initiative for high quality induction and mentoring throughout the state. Morris continues to be an advocate for educators by focusing on current educational policy initiatives impacting educators.
Morris has a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the Southern Illinois University, Carbondale with post-graduate studies in Higher Education Administration. Contact information for Mary Jane Morris.