MEET THE TEAM

Lead Consultant, CEO

Jessica is an educator to the core. She has spent her career teaching diverse learners, developing district and school-level leadership, and developing teachers. Jessica has experience as a special and general education teacher, Instructional Coach, Special Education Coordinator, and Educational Diagnostician. She has partnered with the Delaware Department of Education through the Center of Disabilities at University of Delaware. She served as a Grade-Level Co-Lead and received the honor of Teacher of the Year in 2014.

Jessica has participated in the statewide assessment bias review in the area of Science. She has presented, on the topics of the One Percent Cap at the Council of Exceptional Children Conference, Alternate Assessment (Delaware Department of Education and Parent Information Center), Accommodations and Instructional Implementation (Delaware Department of Education), Inclusive Practices (Delaware Department of Education), Standards-Based IEPs (Delaware Department of Education), Educational Benefit (Delaware Department of Education), Universal Design for Learning (Delaware Department of Education),and Teaching to the Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (Delaware Department of Education). Also, Jessica has experience with creating curriculum, and creating and implementing standards-based IEPs. Jessica has not only provided quality instruction to students of various abilities, she has supported schools in the areas of special education compliance. She has trained the Delaware Department of Education Exceptional Children Resource workgroup on the Educational Benefit process. Jessica's passion is not only in education, she works in the community focusing on racial equity. She has served as co-lead of the Racial Equity and Access Liaisons (R.E.A.L.) Committee at the Center for Disabilities Studies to bring guidance that ensured that racial equity be considered in the practices of the Center. Jessica also serves as a member of the United Way’s Delaware Racial Justice Collaborative.

Jessica graduated from Tennessee State University with a Bachelors of Science in Special Education. She earned a Masters in Educational Leadership from Pennsylvania State University. She has received training in the areas of Comprehensive Literacy for students with moderate to severe disabilities, Universal Design for Learning (Level 2 Certified), Comprehensive Literacy for Students with Intensive Support Needs, Standards-Based IEPs, Alternate Academic Achievement Standards, Building Communication through Literacy for Students with Complex Communication Needs, the 1% Cap, the SETT Framework, and Science of Reading. Jessica is a member of the Council for Exceptional Children. She has also served on the National Center on Education Outcomes’ (NCEO) Community of Practice.

Jessica, the CEO and lead consultant of J & A Bass Consulting, LLC, provides state education agencies, district-level leadership, school-level leadership, and teachers with support in the areas of IEP development, the Educational Benefit Review process, implementation of evidence-based instructional practices, building communication skills through literacy, state assessment bias review, and One Percent Cap support.

Consultant

In 2004, as Executive Director, founded Breakthrough Fort Lauderdale, part of the National Breakthrough Collaborative, a nonprofit program that served 240 students and prepared middle school and high school students for college, and also gave high school and college students the opportunity to teach. Dr. Bass served as President for the National Breakthrough Directors Association, and as Co-Chairman of the Fort Lauderdale Mayor’s Educational Board.

In 2007, Dr. Bass joined KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) and was awarded the prestigious Fisher Fellowship, given by the Fisher Family (owners of the GAP, Old Navy) to establish KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy. KDCA was the only open enrollment school to have an ACT Average in the top 10 High Schools in Philadelphia. His first graduating class had a college matriculation rate of 95% - compared to Philadelphia’s average of 30%. In 2014, he became Chief of Staff and led advocacy efforts for KIPP’s expansion in Philadelphia. Under his leadership KIPP was the only school to obtain two new charters in 2014 (expanding KIPP’s 4 schools to 10 in the city).

In 2014 and 2015, Dr. Bass was tapped by the Philadelphia Eagles to be their Instructional Consultant. In this role, he provided Professional Development to the Eagles coaching staff and directly supported the Offensive Coordinator, Special Teams Coach, Running Backs Coach, Quarterbacks Coach and Inside Linebackers.

In 2016, Dr. Bass was selected as CEO for EastSide Charter School During his tenure EastSide has outperformed the state in growth on the state assessment. During the 2017-18 Academic year Aaron took on the role as principal of EastSide Charter School in addition to his role as CEO. EastSide went from the lowest performing school in the state to the second in student growth on the state assessment. In 2020 EastSide Middle School students beat the state average in all content areas. In 2021 EastSide was named a Top Place to Work by the News Journal and the top school in the state after retaining over 90% of staff.

In 2021 and 2022, Aaron Bass was named as one of the most influential leaders in the state of Delaware by The News Journal. Under his leadership EastSide Charter School has been able to raise over $24M towards the new STEM Hub which is a partnership between public and private entities open to the entire public.

Dr. Bass earned his B.A. in African Studies and Sociology from Franklin & Marshall College. He earned his M.Ed. in Educational Leadership at Florida Atlantic University. He earned his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at the University of Delaware.

Other highlights: repeat lecturer at UPENN, Temple, Franklin and Marshall College; Served as instructional consultant for the World Bank, Future Leaders of UK, US Dept. of Education, and other community organizations. Also has served on the Alumni Board for Franklin and Marshall College, YMCA and leadership for Black Male Educators Convening.

Aaron Bass has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, Washington Post, Inside Edition, New York Times, and many other news outlets for innovation and approach to education.