Venola Mason
(Full bio - 302 words)
Venola is driven by the belief that every student deserves a high-quality education that can afford them many opportunities to lead and contribute to the world as they transition to adulthood. She is passionate about partnering with school districts across the country to create and implement practical solutions to increase student achievement and wellness.
Venola began her career in education as a Teach For America • Metro Atlanta corps member in 2003. She taught for five years in Atlanta Public Schools leading her students to consistently make 1-3 years of academic growth across all content areas closing the achievement gap. She also served as a Site Manager for The New Teacher Project (TNTP) where she managed the Atlanta Content Seminar program, a professional development program for K-12 teachers. During her last year with TNTP, she served as a central Site Manager to support the state approval process and launch of the Georgia Teaching Fellows program, an alternative teacher certification program.
In 2011, Venola served as the Director of Alternative Certification for Teach for America • Metro Atlanta. In this role, she created the Teacher Leadership Development Program, an alternative certification program for Teach for America corps members, and secured the program’s designation as an accredited teacher preparation program through the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. In that same year, she joined the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE) as a Consultant and supported school districts across the country in the areas of Instructional Excellence, Blended Learning, and Leadership. Currently, Venola serves as an Associate Partner with ICLE. In this role, she supports school districts with designing strategies to implement practical solutions to increase student achievement and wellness.
Venola has recently published Teach Up! Empowering Teachers through Relationships, Rigor, and Relevance and maintains her teacher and administrator credentials in the state of Georgia.
"every student deserves a high-quality education that can afford them many opportunities to lead and contribute to the world as they transition to adulthood."
Venola Mason (shortened Bio) - 180 words
In her role as an ICLE associate partner, Venola works with educators across the country supporting school districts with designing and implementing transformational change efforts to increase student achievement and wellness. Her passion is assisting schools and districts with principles of Leadership Development, Rigor Relevance, and Relationships, Blended Learning, Equity, and Social Emotional Learning. Venola’s career in education began as a teacher with Atlanta Public Schools. As a classroom teacher she saw, and was inspired by, the levels of achievement students were capable of when she challenged and encouraged them. She led these students to consistently make 1-3 years of academic growth across all content areas. In addition, at the New Teacher Project in Atlanta, she managed a professional development program for K-12 teachers and supported the launch of Georgia’s alternative teacher certification program. She then went on to create the Teacher Leadership Development Program, an alternative certification program for Teach For America corps members. Venola has recently published Teach Up! Empowering Teachers through Relationships, Rigor, and Relevance and maintains her teacher and administrator credentials in the state of Georgia.