Dr. Justin Smith - Little Rock Christian Academy

EDUCATION

Executive Masters Diploma in Organizational Leadership at University of Oxford, Saïd Business School (December, 2022)
Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University (May, 2016)
Dissertation title: The Harkness Approach to Teaching and Learning: Teacher Perceptions of a Student-centered, Discussion-based Pedagogy.
Master of Education (August, 2012) in Educational Administration at Sam Houston State University.
Bachelor of Arts (May, 2002) in Psychology at The University of San Diego.

ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT

Assistant Head of School
Head of Upper School/Vice President, 2017-2022
Little Rock Christian Harkness Training, Director, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
Little Rock Christian Academy, Little Rock, Arkansas, July 2017-present
Adjunct Professor Gordon College M.A. in Leadership
Gordon College Graduate School of Leadership, 2020-Present
LEA 702 Leadership Theories and Practices
LEA 710 Instructional Leadership and Assessment
Head of Middle School for grades 5-8,
Second Baptist School, Houston, Texas, June 2013 – June 2017
Dean of Students for grades PK-12,
The Woodlands Preparatory School, The Woodlands, Texas, August 2010 – 2013
Mathematics Instructor/Varsity Baseball/Varsity Soccer/Varsity Basketball Head Coach,
The Woodlands Preparatory School, The Woodlands, Texas, August 2007 – 2013
Mathematics Instructor/Dorm Parent/Varsity Baseball/ JV Basketball Head Coach for grades 6-12,
The Phelps School, Malvern, Pennsylvania, August 2003 – 2007

PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION

Colson Fellow 2019-2021, Colson Center for Christian Worldview
Harvard University, Graduate School of Education: New and Aspiring Leaders Program, 2014
Principal Certification, Texas
Secondary Mathematics 8-12 Certification, Texas

PUBLICATIONS

Smith, J.A. (2021, Summer). Hope and Hard Conversations. The Warrior, 12-13.
Smith, J.A. & Lepine, J. (December 2020). Rising Leaders’ Guide to Change and Innovation: Keeping a Kingdom Mindset [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://cace.org/rising-leaders-guide-to-change-and-innovation-keeping-a-kingdom-mindset/
Smith, J.A. (2020, Winter). Blueprinting Harkness. The Warrior, 10-11.
Smith, J.A. (2019). From Scarcity to Abundance, 41-51. In L.E. Swaner, D. Beerens, & E. Ellefsen, Mindshift: Catalyzing change in Christian education. Association of Christian Schools International: Colorado Springs, CO.
Smith, J. A. (2018, September 18). Harkness: Timely, Timeless Innovation [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://cace.org/harkness-timely-timeless-innovation/
Smith, J. A. (2018, March 16). The Harkness Approach Brings Student-centered, Discussion-based Learning to LRCA [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.littlerockchristian.com/about/warrior-roundtable/warrior-roundtable-post/~board/warriorville-roundtable/post/the-harkness-approach-brings-student-centered-discussion-based-learning-to-lrca
Smith, J. A. (2017, September). On Raising Our Kids to be Adults [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.littlerockchristian.com/about/hidden-pages/home-page-news-post/~post/on-raising-our-kids-to-be-adults-20170901
Smith, J. A. (2016). Voices from the field, 122-123. In T. B. Jones & D. C. Barrett, Harnessing the dynamics of public education: Preparing for a return to greatness. Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, MD.
Smith, J. A., & Slate, J. R. (2015). Private school principals of high and low achieving schools and student achievement and teacher collaboration. Journal of Education Research, 8(4), 1-6.

PRESENTATIONS

Peer-Review Presentations

Smith, J. A. (2014, February). Private school principals of high and low achieving schools and student achievement and teacher collaboration. Paper presented at the meeting of Southwest Educational Research Association (SERA) 2014 Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.