ProfessorCurriculum and Instruction
328E College of Education
Phone: 713-313-7641
Email: johnson_ja@tsu.edu
Primary Research FocusDocumenting, understanding, analyzing, and acting on estimated Black-white achievement
gaps
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Professional BiographyJames A. Johnson Jr. has an undergraduate degree from the City University of New York,
a MS from Nova University, and a Ph.D. from the University of California. While in
New York City, he served in various roles with numerous private and public social
and educational agencies. Appointed as a Ford Foundation Fellow in 1968, Dr. Johnson
interned with the Washington Internships in Education, serving as Special Assistant
to Mr. Richard Orton, National Director of Head Start. From 1969 to 1973, he was a
Program Associate, the Coordinator of System Development, and an Associate Director
at the Far West Laboratory for the Educational Research and Development in San Francisco.
In January of 1974, he became Associate Superintendent for Planning, Research and
Evaluation in the Public Schools of the District of Columbia; he served until August
of 1975 when he became Executive Director of the Louisville Education Consortium and
an Associate Professor at the University of Louisville. Dr. Johnson accepted a professorship
in Public Administration and Early Childhood Education at Nova University in 1977.
He later served as National Professor and Director of Instruction in Nova's National
Doctoral Program for Educational Leaders until 1989.
In January 1990, Dr. Johnson was appointed Director of the Division of Special Programs
Planning and Implementation at the Texas Education Agency (TEA). He later served as
Coordinator of the Divisions of Instruction and Instructional Technical Assistance
and as Planner in the Office of the Executive Deputy Commissioner of Education. While
at the Texas Education Agency he authored or served as Senior Editor of such reports
as Responsible Education: A Plan to Educate All Children, Educational Equity Through
Barrier Reduction, and the 1995-97 and 1997-99 Texas State Plan to Reduce the Dropout
Rate. He also served with Dr. Jay Cummings as co-architect of Texas Southern University's
Center for the Development and Study of Effective Pedagogy for African American Learners
(CPAL) and TEA's Program Manager of the CPAL Contracts/Grants.
Dr. Johnson served as Vice-President of the St. George's Senior Housing, Inc. Board
of Directors, a member of the Public Sector Industry Committee, Greater Austin @ Work
Summit, and as an Associate member of Texas Southern University's CPAL Advisory Board.
National Alliance of Black School Educator (NABSE) positions held include Chair, Program
Development, Research and Evaluation Commission; Member, NABSE Executive Board; President
and Founder, NABSE Council of Affiliate Presidents; Co-author, NABSE publication entitled
Saving the African American Child; President, the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Austin,
Texas NABSE Affiliates; and Board Member, Texas Alliance of Black School Educators.
He is in his sixth year as a member of NABSE's Demonstration Schools Initiative [Task
Force III] which is charged with identifying K-12 schools that provide exemplary educational
services to learners of African descent as indicated by criterion referenced and normed
test scores. Dr. Johnson currently serves pro bono as Executive Consultant to the
Parent Advocacy for Student Success (P.A.S.S.) program – an initiative of the Lighthouse
Center located in Fort Bend County, Texas.
Dr. Johnson has been a consultant to numerous federal, state and local governmental,
social and educational institutions. He has lectured, led seminars or taught courses
on three University of California campuses; at the Universities of Louisville and
Kentucky; the Claremont Graduate School; Merrit College; the University of Nebraska
at Lincoln; and Howard, Nova, and St. Edward's Universities where courses taught include
Human Growth and Development through the Life Cycles, Management and Diversity; Funding
Sources and Proposal Preparation; and Conflict Resolution: Topics and Settings.
Additionally, he served as Director of the Administrative Internship Program, as advisor
to the MAHS Student Organization and on various University-wide, School of Education
and MAHS committees. Dr. Johnson served as Dean of St. Edward's University's Master
of Arts in Human Services program for four years.
In the role of Dean, Dr. Johnson had, among others, line responsibility for degree
programs in Administration, Conflict Resolution (in which it was also possible for
Advanced Certificates in Conflict Resolution and Mediation , Basic Certificates in
Mediation , and Certificates in Family Mediation to b e earned), Counseling, Human
Resource Management, and Sports Management (in which it was also possible for Certificates
in Sports Management to be earned) inclusive of personnel, program, policy, budget
and evaluation; and provided services to students in these programs inclusive of ombudsman
services, internship development and placement, advisement coordination and oversight,
strategically bringing relevant speakers and other experts on campus and into the
classroom, tracking and improving graduation and certification rates.
Dr. Johnson's primary responsibilities in his present role as Associate Dean for Academic
Affairs are to give leadership to the university's pursuit of NCATE accreditation
and to the college of education's doctoral center. Additionally, he has staff responsibility
for University programs in Curriculum and Instruction, Health and Kinesiology, Educational
leadership (principals and Superintendents), and School and Community Counseling.
He also gives leadership to such program liaison activities as: development of a recruitment
strategy; retention strategies, involvement of candidates in partnerships among Pre-k
– 12 schools, student organization creation and serving as faculty advisor, development
and implementing campus visitation programs for student siblings and their parents,
supporting the provision of opportunities for students to improve test performance
(especially students admitted conditionally), provision of services to students who
receive instructional services at an off campus location (indirect responsibility),
coordination with department chairs and deans of other colleges, and development of
a program/continuous improvement process.
Dr. Johnson is co-author of Cultural and Educational Excellence Revisited: Knowing,
Doing, Being, and Becoming as though Saving the African American Child Matters.
