Office of School Improvement

Jason Adair is the program director for Literacy and Mathematics in the instructional programs division. He leads a team of content coaches as they develop and deliver high quality professional development to teachers, instructional coaches, and school and district leaders. Jason joined SREB’s school improvement team in 2011, bringing more than 10 years of experience in the public education sector. He was a middle school and high school mathematics teacher and instructional coach in Florida for eight years before leading K-12 mathematics in Gaston County, North Carolina.

Ivy Alford is the director of state and district partnerships with the Southern Regional Education Board, where she leads the work in effective implementation of the High Schools That Work and Technology Centers That Work initiatives in Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Shawn Bender is a school improvement leadership coach at SREB, where he works with principals, assistant principals, and instructional leaders to better the conditions for teaching and learning within districts and schools. He joined SREB in 2018, bringing more than 17 years of experience in the public education sector. He was an elementary school teacher in New York and Georgia for four years before transforming teaching practices as principal at Perkerson Elementary school in Atlanta.

Steve Broome is executive director for school improvement. He joined the Southern Regional Education Board in 2006 as the director of state development for high schools and middle grades for High Schools That Work, He brought more than 15 years of experience working on issues of education policy and practice in the public education sector. Steve has worked with state and local leaders in 32 states through HSTW.

Paula Egelson is the division director of research and accountability. She joined the Southern Regional Education Board in September 2010 as director of research to the school improvement team. She brings more than 35 years of experience as a K-12 educator, director of reading and school improvement, and senior research analyst. While at SREB, Paula has co-authored research and policy publications on preparing principals to be more effective and improving the quality of career and technical teacher preparation.

Judy Frank is the program director of the Making Middle Grades Work initiative. She joined SREB in 2015 as a school improvement consultant to the organization’s High Schools That Work/Making Middle Grades Work initiative, bringing more than 33 years of experience working on issues of education policy and practice in the public education sector. In her current role, she coordinates middle grade services across the organization and supports leadership and content coaches in school redesign.