Dr. Joshua Barnett

Chief Executive Officer

jbarnett@niet.org

Twitter: @NIETjbarnett

Joshua H. Barnett is chief executive officer of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET), a not-for-profit organization that has trained and supported more than 30,000 teacher leaders over 20  years.

He works with NIET partner districts, states, and higher education institutions to improve educator effectiveness and student learning by investing in teacher leadership as a lever for change and creating the systems and structures that enable teacher leaders to be successful. His work supports teachers to develop leadership skills, take on new leadership roles, and contribute to the improvement of teaching and learning in their school and district.

Prior to becoming CEO, Barnett served as chief operating officer and senior vice president of research and evaluation at NIET, leading the research agenda and production of evidentiary support for all initiatives and programs.

He earned his doctorate in education at the University of Arkansas and served as an assistant professor of education policy at Arizona State University. His work has been published in a variety of outlets, including Educational Leadership and Issues in Teacher Education. He is the coauthor of “Learning on the Job: Teacher Evaluation Can Foster Real Growth

Before joining NIET, Josh worked as an assistant professor of education policy and evaluation at Arizona State University, a visiting scholar at Massey University in New Zealand and a research associate in the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas.

Josh has taught courses in research methods, school finance, evaluation, and educational psychology; worked as an evaluator for nearly three dozen federal and state grants; served as an evaluator for the U.S. Institute of Education Sciences; and worked with local, state and national government agencies and organizations on projects aimed at improving educator effectiveness.

He is author of Unleashing Teacher Leadership: A Toolkit for Ensuring Effective Instruction in Every Classroom and has been published in a variety of outlets, including Review of Educational Research, Teachers College Record, Educational Leadership, New Zealand Education Review, and Issues in Teacher Education. He is also co-author of A Straightforward Guide to Teacher Merit Pay: Encouraging and Rewarding Schoolwide Improvement and Learning on the Job: How Evaluation Systems Can Support Teacher Growth.

Dr. Joshua Barnett

Who is your favorite teacher?

My favorite teacher is always a tough question. While I was greatly impacted by so many tremendous educators, two come to mind. First, my fifth-grade teacher was Ms. Brenda Shurley, creator of the Shurley Method. Ms. Shurley taught our class songs about grammar concepts. At the time, I had no idea how different of an approach this was or what the word "curriculum" meant. However, years later, I realized along my own educational pathway that she created a program to impact students. I was one of those students in what was then rural Arkansas. Second, Ms. Jane Balgavy taught gifted and talented in my junior high school and later forensics and debate at the high school. Ms. Balgavy gave me and my classmates a sense of accomplishment and excellence as our team competed in events. However, she also gave us a personal sense of growth and belonging – caring for each student in her class. Undoubtedly I am a product of the hard work and determination of many educators, and I greatly appreciate all teachers for what they do to impact students.

What was your favorite subject in school and why?

My favorite subject in school was writing. The ability to use words to create, inform, and entertain a reader or audience member always humbled and challenged me. The way language can adjust in interpretation and meaning from person to person still fascinates me.