Phone: 512.232.7705
Email: jason.buckingham@austin.utexas.edu
Dana Center Role
Jason is a senior program coordinator for Literacy First, which is dedicated to providing low-income schools with highly trained tutors to ensure that children advance to grade level in reading before third grade. He trains, supports, and directly supervises AmeriCorps members who provide early literacy intervention to struggling readers at 22 elementary schools in the Austin and Manor Independent School Districts. Jason also writes curriculum for the program and is the team lead on data collection, management, and reporting.
Before Joining the Dana Center
Jason has 15 years of experience in the field of education. Before joining the Dana Center, Jason worked for 12 years in east Austin schools as an AmeriCorps member, elementary school teacher, master reading teacher, and Response to Intervention specialist.
As a teacher, Jason taught first and third grades, mentoring student and novice teachers and partnering with professors at The University of Texas at Austin to model classroom community building and literacy instruction.
As a Response to Intervention specialist with Austin ISD, Jason trained and supported teachers and specialists across the district in the areas of literacy intervention and core reading instruction. He also created and provided professional development for teachers and specialists in the areas of early literacy instruction and classroom community building.
Education
B.A., Developmental Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin
Post-baccalaureate Teaching Certification, The University of Texas at Austin
Master Reading Teacher Certification, Region VIII Educational Service Center