“What we are doing in education…is we’re growing people. We’re growing people. That’s what we do.”

– Jack Appleby –

This week, NWEF Founder Melvin Adams interviewed educator and author Jack Appleby.

A Pennsylvania resident, Jack has worked in education for 46 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology, a Master of Education in Biology, a secondary Principal Certificate, and a Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibility in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Appleby began as a teacher, made his way to administration, served as interim superintendent, and finished his career as Director of Secondary Education. His longest service was at Greencastle-Antrim School District, where he worked for 34 years. 

After retirement, he became adjunct professor at Hagerstown Community College and Headmaster at Grace Academy, a small faith based K-12 school located in Maryland. His most recent endeavors have been working in the international education field, with schools in South Korea and China.

Between teaching and traveling, he also presents at conferences and forums, including “High Schools That Work,” PSBA, and the International Youth Forums held in Germany and South Korea. 

He recently co-authored a book with Dr. Duff Rearick, titled: First Choice: Changing the Habits of Education.

In this interview, Mr. Appleby shares his views on the valuable relationship between students and teachers, the child-centric nature of meaningful achievement testing, how tight school budgets can encourage innovation, how school choice leads to improvements in all schools, and much more!

Click here to watch the whole interview playlist with Jack Appleby, or select one of the short clips below to jump to a specific topic:

• Introduction to Jack Appleby
• Students and instruction
• Relationships in education
• Measuring learning and achievement
• High-stakes testing
• The end consumers of education
• Career goals
• Parents in education
• Parenting and school policy
• Parents, community, and schools
• Government in education
• Politics in the education system
• Funding for private schools
• Failing schools and funding
• Schools and cultural change
• Churches and education
• School facilities and budgets
• Closing remarks

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Note from the Editor: We thank all our contributors for their insights and expertise. However, the views of guest authors or interviewees are not necessarily those of Noah Webster Educational Foundation.