Jeffrey Benson, MEd

Jeffrey has worked in almost every school context in his 40 years in education: as a teacher in elementary, middle, and high schools; as an instructor in undergraduate and graduate programs; and as a principal and director in day and residential schools.  Jeffrey holds an M.Ed from Lesley University, his BA from SUNY Buffalo, and MA DESE certifications as Director/Supervisor, Teacher of Students with Moderate Special Needs, and Teacher of Secondary School English.  He has studied and worked side by side with national leaders in the fields of special education, learning theory, math curriculum, trauma and addiction, social emotional learning, school reform, adult development, advisory, and conflict resolution.

Since 2013 Jeffrey has been coaching principals and school leaders, consulting to school systems, working in classrooms with teachers, so that schools can be more successful with more students. He is a frequent workshop leader at conferences, and is sought after for keynote addresses. Additionally, Jeffrey is a faculty instructor at Wheelock College Graduate School, serves as Chair of the Board Educators for Social Responsibility, and is part of the ASCD faculty.  The core of Jeffrey Benson’s work is in understanding how people learn, the starting point for everything that schools should do.

He believes that schools can be more successful with more students through understanding brain science, child development, the diverse ways students are capable of learning, the social and emotional needs of students that are intertwined with academic progress--and so creating structures and processes that make schools and classrooms more inclusive, and more joyful. His books include, “Hanging In” (ASCD 2014); “Tens Steps Managing Change in Schools” (ASCD 2015); “Teaching the Whole Teen” (Corwin 2017); “Improve Every Lesson Plan with SEL” (ASCD, 2021). Personally, Jeffrey is a musician, poet, basketball player and parent in a large blended and extended family.