John Adams

John Adams is a third-year post-qualifying doctoral candidate in the Design of Learning Environments program at Rutgers University Graduate School of Education. He previously earned a Master of Business Administration (2014) and a Master of Educational Leadership (2021) from Thomas Edison State University, following his BA in Psychology from Rutgers University.

He currently serves as the Senior Manager of Assessments & Programming for the Camden City School District in New Jersey, overseeing districtwide implementation of state assessments and academic programming across multiple schools. John is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Camden City News Corporation, a monthly newspaper providing coverage of local politics, education, healthcare, and community affairs. With more than 30 years of professional experience across education, healthcare, and business, John brings an interdisciplinary lens to educational leadership and reform.

A former special education teacher, he is committed to advancing equity in public education. John’s research focuses on examining how K-12 school districts integrate equity and diversity into subject-based curriculum selection. His mixed-methods study explores how curriculum procurement decisions affect inclusivity, stakeholder engagement, and academic outcomes in urban schools. His work seeks to inform more equitable, transparent, and culturally responsive curriculum policies that close achievement gaps and support historically marginalized student populations.

My research agenda centers on the intersection of curriculum decision-making, equity, and educational reform in urban K–12 school systems. Drawing from Critical Race Theory and grounded in the real-world constraints of public education, my work critically examines how school districts select subject-based curricula and whether those decisions incorporate diversity, inclusivity, and stakeholder input. I am particularly interested in how systemic procurement practices and curriculum design inequities contribute to persistent achievement gaps among historically underserved student populations.

My dissertation, “Examining Whether Diversity and Equity Exist in the Curricula Decision-Making Process in K-12 School Districts: A Mixed-Method Investigation on the Procurement of Subject-Based Curricula,” employs a multi-site case study methodology across 14 school districts in New Jersey. This study combines semi-structured interviews, quantitative survey data, and district-level New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA) performance metrics to identify how leaders balance cost-effectiveness, quality, and inclusivity in curriculum adoption. It also investigates the degree to which teachers, parents, and community stakeholders are included in the decision-making process, and whether equity-focused curriculum policies are associated with improvements in student outcomes.

This work contributes to an under-researched but critically important area in educational policy: the opaque and often inequitable processes by which curriculum decisions are made. While much of the current literature emphasizes curriculum implementation and instructional practice, relatively little is known about how curricula are selected, particularly in urban districts affected by budget constraints, policy mandates, and pandemic-era learning loss.

Looking forward, my research aims to: 1) Develop and validate a district-level equity audit tool for curriculum selection practices. 2) Explore longitudinal impacts of equity-focused curricula on student achievement and engagement. 3) Examine state and federal policy mechanisms, such as ESSER funding and NJQSAC mandates, that shape curricular priorities in high-needs districts. 4) Advance culturally responsive leadership models that embed stakeholder collaboration and antiracist principles into curriculum procurement. By producing actionable insights for policymakers, school leaders, and curriculum developers, my research seeks to disrupt inequitable systems and promote inclusive, high-quality learning environments for all students. I am committed to continuing this work through applied research, community partnership, and public scholarship that directly informs policy and practice.

I am a Rutgers Alum. Being an Alum made Rutgers GSE my #1 choice. This was the only program I applied to.

I aspire to create a body of research that can be actualized by school administrators and teachers in K-12 urban school districts by providing them with a road map that will guide them in policy & instructional planning to meet the needs of Black and Latinx students.