James Michael Thomas

With more than 30 years of education experience, Dr. Mike Thomas is one of the foremost experts on the implementation of value-added analysis for school improvement in the United States. Most recently, Mike has provided value-added training to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Houston Independent School District (TX), the Fort Worth Independent School District (TX), and numerous districts throughout New York and Ohio.

Mike led the development of Understanding & Using Value-Added Analysis: A Toolkit for School Leaders and Ohio•Learn, an online system that provides educators access to personalized professional development and instructional leadership planning tools. He also partnered with the Ohio department of Education and played an integral role in Ohio’s statewide rollout of value-added analysis, including the implementation of a professional development program to build the skills of educators from Ohio’s 12 regions.

Prior to joining Battelle for Kids as Senior Director of Innovation, Mike served as a co-coordinator of the pre-service elementary and middle school teacher education program at The Ohio State University. In this role, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award from The Ohio State University.

Mike has served as a presenter on the topic of value-added analysis at The Education Trust’s National Conference and the American Association of School Administrators’ National Conference on Education. He recently co-authored a chapter in Dr. Theodore Hershberg’s book, A Grand Bargain for Education Reform, published by Harvard Education Press in 2009.

Mike is a former middle school science and mathematics teacher.