James Noonan

James Noonan is an assistant professor in the Department of Secondary and Higher Education at Salem State University (SSU), where he teaches courses in adaptive leadership, school-community partnerships, and culturally responsive teaching. He is also a research partner at the Beyond Test Scores Project at UMass Lowell. His research interests include the intersection of teacher identity and teacher learning, as well as the relationship between school quality and equity.

Prior to joining the faculty at SSU, Dr. Noonan was the inaugural Project Director for School Quality Measures at the Center for Collaborative Education, where he coordinated the collection and analysis of 25,000 student surveys and 6,000 teacher surveys each year. In addition, he held multiple positions at Peace Games (now Peace First), a non-profit organization partnering with schools to empower young people as peacemakers. He also coordinated civic education at an literacy program for recent immigrants and managed shelter-based programming for homeless children and families. Across these diverse roles, he has taught students of all ages.

Dr. Noonan's research has been published in AERA Open, the Journal of Teacher Education, the Harvard Educational Review, and other peer-reviewed journals. He holds an Ed.D. and Ed.M., both from Harvard University, and a B.A. in English and B.S. in English Education, both from Boston University.

He lives in Roxbury, MA with his wife, a long-time elementary school teacher and math coach. They have two daughters enrolled in the Boston Public Schools.

Education

• Ed.D. Harvard University Graduate School of Education (2010 — 2016)
• Ed.M. Harvard University Graduate School of Education (2009 — 2010)
• B.A., B.S. Boston University (1993 — 1997)

Companies

• Assistant Professor Salem State University (2019)
• Project Director, Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment Center for Collaborative Education (2016 — 2019)
• Research Associate Harvard Business School (2011 — 2015)
• Teaching Fellow Harvard Graduate School of Education (2010 — 2014)
• Education Pioneers Fellow The Lynch Foundation (2010 — 2010)
• National Program Specialist Peace First (2004 — 2009)
• English Literacy/Civics Education Coordinator Everett Literacy Program (2004 — 2006)
• Site Director (Nathan Hale School) Peace First (2001 — 2004)
• Playspace Programs Manager Horizons for Homeless Children (1999 — 2001)