A.B.  Wesleyan University
Ed.M.  Harvard Graduate School of Education
Ph.D. Boston College

Currently Director of Graduate Programs in Education at Curry College, Don Gratz has more than 30 years experience in both K-12 and college education.  During much of the last decade, he served at Director of National School Reform for the Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC) in Boston.  In this capacity, he provided technical assistance and support to many school districts across the country in accountability and assessment, school improvement, community involvement and other areas.  These districts included Cleveland, Ohio; Denver Colorado; Newark, New Jersey; Palm Beach County, Florida; Salt Lake City, Utah, and a range of districts in California.  Among other activities, he also served as a professional evaluator in California’s first Underperforming Schools initiative, and led the research teams for two national studies: a study of the takeover of the Newark Public Schools by the state of New Jersey, and a study of the Denver Public School’s pilot of Pay for Performance for Teachers.

Dr. Gratz has also written and spoken widely on educational issues.  Recent articles include Lessons from Denver: The Pay for Performance Pilot, the cover story for the April, 2005 issue of Phi Delta Kappan, and Unchartered Waters, a commentary in the October 6, 2004 edition of Education Week on charter schools.  Previous articles have addressed issues of standards and assessment, student expectations, and the appropriate use of standardized tests.  Some of his writing also appears in college textbooks and compendia, and he is currently under contract for a book on Pay for Performance for Teachers. 

In addition, Dr. Gratz is in his seventh year as a member of the Needham, Massachusetts school committee, having served as both vice chair and chair in the past.  Previous job experience includes running the Alliance for Education in central Massachusetts, and Ford Hall Forum in Boston, and Boston’s Museum of Transportation during its time on Museum Wharf.  He has also been active in community development initiatives in the past, serving on a variety of boards such as the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, the South Shore Welfare Advisory Board, an office for children local council, and similar organizations.