We recently connected with Jeffrey Garrett and have shared our conversation below.

Jeffrey, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

I think we have for too long taken for granted the system of public education in this country, and the immense accomplishment it represents as a physical embodiment of our commitment to democracy. Like with all great social endeavors, it has certainly not been without its flaws. But in this moment, as public education is under unprecedented attack from the federal government, and in many states across the nation, we must start any conversation about the future of education by grounding in the basic principle that public education is an indispensable public good, and that all people in this nation have a right to a high quality, free, public education.

Those among us who would seek to weaponize the seat of government to privatize public education, ban books, force teachers to teach dishonest history, pit educators and families against one another, who would commingle church and state in the classroom, enshrine policies we know will lead to suffering, self-harm and even death for our most marginalized students, must be challenged. And those who understand the vital role that education plays in any society that is, or aspires to be, a democracy must rally to support our most fundamental public institution.

With that set of ideas in mind, I think there are two things I would change first in an effort to ensure students are able to experience a fulfilling life and career. First, we must ask schools to do less. This might seem like a surprising place to start, as there is undoubtedly so much more we can do for students in this country. But the reality is that schools are inundated with responsibilities that are the result of the gaping holes we have left in our collective social safety net. The time, staffing, budget, and human resources that the public school system — from the boardroom to the classroom — spends on ensuring kids have access to food, health care, dental care, glasses, counseling and mental health services, housing, and other basic needs, is immense. And that’s not even to mention the behavioral and social challenges that schools must manage for students who come to school not ready to learn because life has put so many barriers in their way.

If in the land of opportunity we want our public schools to be a guarantor of that right, then we must have in place the conditions for success that schools, students, and families deserve. Sadly, we have instead used our nation’s schools as a massive social band-aid, which we can admire from afar and champion the examples of “beating the odds” rather than addressing the moral failures of a social order that so drastically stacks the deck against some students, and in favor of others.

Second, I would begin anew the conversation about what constitutes success for our nation’s schools. We have invested many billions of dollars in recent decades building, and enshrining into place an accountability regime for schools that gives us robust data about how our schools are doing, in some key areas. If you look at that data, it tells you about what has improved in the nation’s schools — expanded opportunity and access for students with special needs, near historic high graduation rates, rising access and achievement for girls in STEM, and growing numbers of students accessing college preparatory courses and actually moving on to college. And at the same time, it tells us about the persistent and troubling challenges we face as well — opportunity and achievement gaps by race and class, lagging proficiency in reading and math, and the struggles we face with chronic absenteeism post pandemic. But, I would argue that despite the value of having this data, we are still too often missing the point.

Most families in this country are actually satisfied with their children’s school, and have been for quite some time (Gallup Poll 2021). The headlines about test scores might suggest otherwise, but the fact of the matter is the nation’s schools are overwhelmingly places where educators care for students, do their best to support their healthy development, and where families are happy to see their children grow and thrive. I believe this reality tells us something vitally important about what we are not paying attention to when we think about how things are going in our schools. We mostly measure the things that are useful, but frankly, just the easier stuff to measure. This makes practical sense, but it has given us only a partial picture. When I speak to families and students, they care much more about how they feel when they come to school, whether they have a good friend group, whether they are accessing diverse learning opportunities, finding passions and interests, whether they are becoming a person with good character, whether they are being challenged and supported, or nurturing their creativity and joy, than they do about their scores on the state exam.

To be clear, I am not suggesting we throw out all current measures of success, or ignore the importance of core academic skills. But I would suggest that to accurately understand whether we are succeeding in serving the public good in our schools, we need to not limit our lens to what is easiest, or most profitable to test. We need to expand our definition of success, and begin elevating the things kids and families actually care about most.

Gallup Poll data cited: https://news.gallup.com/poll/354083/parents-remain-largely-satisfied-child-education.aspx#:~:text=Twenty%2Deight%20percent%20of%20parents,risk%20of%20contracting%20COVID%2D19.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

During my senior year of college, I began the process of studying for both the GRE and the LSAT. I had bold ideas for my future as either the next Thurgood Marshall, civil rights attorney extraordinaire, or the next Mary McCleod Bethune, educator and revolutionary school founder. As I wavered between the two choices, I applied for and was awarded a prestigious fellowship that would cover a significant portion of the cost of earning my Masters in Education at Harvard University, and so an educator was born.

In the more than 20 years since then, I have worked in Ivy League college admissions, taught history and government to high school students in East Harlem and the South Bronx, supported administrators and and teacher leaders as a coach, led a middle and high school as an principal, and overseen leadership development for a network of district schools in Los Angeles serving the city’s historically underserved communities. Since 2017, I have had a small consulting practice, which served as a way to opportunistically take on projects I found interesting, and that fed my professional soul. Early in 2025, I decided to leave my previous organization and take the bold step to lean full time into my consulting practice.

Through JM Garrett Learning Group, I help schools, leaders, and teams enhance the work they are doing and find vision, coherence and results. My work falls primarily into three buckets:

1) Leadership development for school and district leaders
2) Leadership team capacity building to support strong and sustainable practice at scale
3) Consultation and coaching around issues of equity, access, and justice.

I believe that educators are inundated with new products, making audacious claims of impact. These bright, shiny objects are often immensely expensive, and rarely translate into the impact we envision. From smart boards, to laptops, to the latest ed tech platforms, we are constantly asked to adopt new tools that promise to be the solution we’ve been looking for. It is my belief that if there were a silver bullet in education, we’d have found it already. The challenge we face in education isn’t lack of access to new tools, it’s lack of sustained effort over time, and poor quality implementation of the fundamental tools and practices we know can make adult practice more impactful, and improve student outcomes. That’s where my services come in. Each school, team, and organization is unique, and needs consulting services tailored to meet their particular needs as we work to expand the sphere of success to all students.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Although I founded my consulting practice in 2017, it was just in early 2025 that I took the leap and began working for myself full time. I left an organization I had been at for 11 years, where I had thrived, and been deeply motivated by the mission and the results of our work. And, when that organization began evolving in ways that no longer aligned with my values, I knew that it was time for a change.

I started by searching for new roles in the field, but found little that truly excited me. I was not interested in climbing the ladder for the sake of climbing the ladder, especially when it would certainly mean stepping further away from the core work I enjoyed and taking on work that deflates my spirit. I knew that I was only interested in a next step that offered me a healthy work-life balance, equal or greater earning potential, and the ability to use my talents and experience in service of schools and leaders serving marginalized communities.

As a highly risk-averse person in most elements of life, even the thought of taking the leap of faith required to gamble on myself kept me up at night. I’ve had a job, with a regular pay check, nearly every day of my life since the age of 14. It took months of reflection, meeting with mentors, consulting with folks who’ve navigated a similar math, and crunching numbers to get myself to the place where I felt I could responsibly make the change. But now, even just a few months in, I know this was the right decision for me as a human being, and as a professional.

If there is one lesson I have learned in the relatively short time that I’ve been on this journey it is to lean into the community of support you have around you. People are generally willing to share their wisdom. Most folks enjoy paying it forward, and recognize that none of us are truly self-made. We stand upon the shoulders and accomplishments of those who’ve come before us, in big ways and small. And with this in mind, a little bit of risk can definitely be worth it!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I tell people that being a school principal is the best job in the world, and it can also leave you feeling a lot like Sisyphus. I’m not sure if there are many other jobs quite like it. I’ve used the analogy that it’s like being the CEO of the company, and the cashier dealing with the customers at the same time. With that comes the tremendous honor of leading a community of educators in what is a foundational institution in every community in this country. Hundreds of people entrust you with the welfare of their children — the people they would give their own lives for — every day, for 13 years. It’s a profound and awesome responsibility.

The cost of bearing that responsibility can also be immense. Like many folks in school leadership, along with my commitment to the role went my sense of balance and prioritizing my personal health. I left the role after coming to the sobering conclusion that I might not live as long as I otherwise would if I didn’t make a change. For me, at that point in my journey, the job was unsustainable. It was a tremendous blow, both to my pride, and to the previously unwavering belief that I could outwork any problem. I was forced to confront the reality of my own mortality, my own needs, and to find an alternate path forward professionally.

Looking back on it now, I am able to see the blessings of the path I have taken. I’ve discovered new talents, and new passions that have allowed me to excel as someone who supports school leaders of all kinds, and helps them grow and thrive in their roles. I remain attached to the mission I see for myself as an educator, and as a leader, while also ensuring I can put my own well being first.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://garrettlearninggroup.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-garrett-69338b38/
• Other: I also co-host the show All of the Above: An Unstandardized Take on Education, available at https://AOTAshow.com

Image Credits

I took these photos myself.