John N. Avis

Instructor

Liberal Studies/Art Education

BA, English, Memphis State University

M. Ed, English Education, Memphis State University

Post-Master’s study, Curriculum & Instruction, Administration & Supervision,

Memphis State University

John N. Avis has been a leader in K – 16 public and private education with an emphasis in curriculum & instruction for over 35 years. Avis served as classroom English teacher for 10 years (both junior high and senior high) before moving into school administration. As a school administrator, he worked as assistant principal, a middle school and high school principal, secondary English/Language Arts supervisor, program coordinator, associate superintendent, vice-president of academic affairs, and head of school. In addition, he has had a variety of experiences teaching composition and methods courses at both the undergrad and graduate levels, as well as teaching graduate courses in school administration.

Throughout his professional career, Avis has made numerous presentations on language, literature, and literacy related topics as well as on issues in school leadership at conferences at the state, regional and national level. He has conducted research in composition and coordinated writing across the curriculum projects in local schools and across the Memphis City Schools district. His work has included research on the writing process, serving as the co-author of "The Write Way to Read: Steps for Setting Up an Evaluation Project Using the Holistic Scoring Process" and the ERIC document Writing Across the Curriculum: A District-Wide Approach (ERIC 284 242). He is also the co-author of the book Design Teams for School Change: A Cyber-Projects Approach. Avis has also been the author and/or contributor to a variety of professional journals including Adjunction, English Journal, Extra Credit, Kaleidoscope, Tennessee Educational Leadership, the Voice, and Writing.

Avis has served on the State of Tennessee Department of Education‘s TCAP Scoring and Calibration Committee for the TCAP Writing Assessment, as a consultant and district liaison for the Tennessee Academy of School Leaders (TASL), a consultant for the CEE Committee on Supervision and Curriculum Development, and as a committee member for State Board of Examiners accreditation visits. From 2004 – 2006, he served as a district representative to Harvard University’s Public Education Leadership Project (PELP), a collaborative between the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Business School. In addition, he has served on a variety of professional and community action group committees.

Avis has received a number of awards recognizing his work and service including the Rotary Award for Teacher Excellence, the TASC Administrator of the Year Award, the Dr. Marian E. Ham Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award, and the TSSAA A.F. Bridges Award (Principal of the Year, District 9).

javis@mca.edu

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