Jason Knighton

Jason Knighton, founder of Conditions For Learning, has been working in urban classrooms for 15 years. After graduating from California State University Sacramento (CSUS), with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 1992, he obtained his teaching credential from the Multicultural/Multilingual Teacher Preparation Center within CSUS, Sacramento in 1993.

Jason spent the next eleven years teaching in Richmond, San Rafael, and Sacramento, California. Throughout these years, Jason was exposed to and sought professional development that supported his drive to create learning environments that are inclusive, engaging, and academically challenging for students. Tribes, Kids and Creeks, Marilyn Burns, the California Literacy Project, the Literacy Achievement Project, Project Based Learning, and Optimal Learning Environments are still influential in his pedagogical philosophy for teaching and learning.

2003

Jason received his administrative credential from the Urban Leadership Program of CSU, Sacramento. He continued working in the classroom while obtaining this credential, but began seeking possible areas in education that would further his growth and desire to improve student academic achievement.

2004

Jason joined Action Learning Systems, Inc. as an Instructional Coach. He spent three years providing urban educators with group in-services, in-class support, coaching, and proven strategies for increasing academic achievement. More specifically, Jason provided professional development and model lessons in the areas of Standards-Based Lesson Design, Reciprocal Teaching, Process Writing, Expository Text Handling, A Balanced Approach to Mathematics, Data Analysis, Specially Designed Instruction in English (SDAIE), and facilitated collaborative grade level planning. He worked with teachers and students primarily in Stockton, Sacramento, Woodland, Napa, and Oakland, California, as well as consulting in Washington D.C.

2007

Jason fully committed himself to establishing Conditions For Learning. Jason believes that with effective conditions, schools can increase student achievement, decrease suspensions and referrals and improve teacher retention rates. Jason's educational model is punctuated by his enthusiasm and belief that educators must have high academic and behavioral expectations of students, and create environments in which students are held accountable to those expectations every moment of every day.