CYPRESS, TX, November 29, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- His career in prekindergarten through grade 12 public schools, colleges, and universities has been devoted to teaching, campus administration, and educator preparation into which he infused music, the arts, multi-arts, and the creative process as important elements of teacher, campus principal, and school staff development.
Jesse Jai McNeil Jr., EdD, has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Leveraging more than four decades of excellence in education, Dr. McNeil has earned distinction as the president, founder and chief executive officer for the McNeil Educational Foundation for Ecumenical Leadership. The aim of the organization is to provide programs that value diversity in gender, ethnicity, race, culture and language. His is the first private independent business to have an alternative principal certification program approved by the State of Texas.
Prior to his current role, Dr. McNeil began his career as a church choir director and summer arts and recreation coordinator at First Friends Church in Long Beach, California, while earning his California State All Level Music – Teacher Credential through California State University in 1969. He was accepted as a National Teacher Corps Intern and Elementary School Teacher at Homer Street School in the Springfield Public Schools earning an M.Ed. from Springfield College in Massachusetts from 1969-1971. While an Ed.D. Candidate in the Arts and Aesthetics Center – School of Education – University of Massachusetts at Amherst, he collaborated with other doctoral Teaching Associates to create the Amherst Elementary Teacher Preparation Council Program embedding 5 semesters of field experiences for aspiring teachers in the Amherst Public Schools. In 1975, with his doctoral degree, he moved to Dallas, Texas to serve in several positions at Bishop College from elementary education department chair, right-to-read center director, and science curriculum development specialist to chair of the division of education, 1975-1978. Soon thereafter, the Dallas Independent School District called him as Coordinator and Specialist for Staff Development – East Oak Cliff Subdistrict for 29 Prek-12 campuses, 1978-1980. During his early educational administration career with the public schools of Dallas he operated in several staff development related positions with the Office of Discipline and Student Services, Districtwide Staff Development and Management Academy for aspiring and current campus administrators, and the Title I State and Federal Programs Office. In 1983, Dr. McNeil began his campus administrator tenure by becoming Assistant Principal at Preston Hollow Elementary School, Principal for Arts Magnet High School at Booker T. Washington in 1985, and Principal at the Arlington Park Early Childhood Education Center from 1986-1987. As Principal of C. F. Carr Elementary School, the campus won Title I School–Outstanding Recognition honors in 1988, and the prestigious statewide Governor's Educational Excellence Award in 1989. He was elevated to the position of Area Coordinator (Assistant Superintendent) supervising 13 desegregation court-ordered PreK-8 campuses, 1990-1991, and assigned to Area Coordinator (Assistant Superintendent) supervising 23 PreK-12 campuses, 1991-1992. After these extensive years of campus administration, Dr. McNeil was assigned back into his specialty as Specialist and Coordinator of Elementary Preparation for the Dallas Alternative Teacher Certification Program, 1992-1995.
While serving in that position, he was recruited into an Adjunct Professor and then full-time Clinical Professor for Educational Leadership UTA – School of Education - The University of Texas at Arlington, 1995-2000, becoming Assistant Professor from 2000-2002.
At this juncture the McNeil Educational Foundation for Ecumenical Leadership was earning its Texas Education Agency approval – 2002 and began its 21st Century Leadership Principal Preparation - Alternative Certification - Program in 2003.
Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas, asked him to serve as an adjunct professor in its weekend graduate school from which Dr. McNeil retired during the 2003-2004 academic year.
Prior to embarking on his professional journey, Dr. McNeil earned a Doctor of Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1975. Well-qualified in his field, he holds a teaching credential in music for K–14 students. Among his professional accomplishments, he is proud to have received the Governor's Educational Excellence Award at C.F. Carr Elementary School. He was also inducted into the John Muir High School Hall of Fame in 2018.
Within the coming years, Dr. McNeil intends to publish more articles and books, contributing a wealth of research to the field of education and pedagogy. He is presently in the process of writing a book that would talk about his stellar experiences in teaching and as an educational mentor.
Associated Awards and Recognitions:
National Trainer - The Federal Head Start Program's Exploring Parenting Curriculum, 1980-1983.
The J. C. Penney Golden Rule Award, 1991
Outstanding Texan Award from the Texas Legislature – 2003 in Austin, Texas
African American Educators Archives and History Program in Dallas, Texas – Hall of Fame, 2008
John Muir High School Hall of Fame in Pasadena, California, 2018
About Marquis Who's Who®
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
# # #