Trends in School Safety: How Districts are Creating Safer Learning Environments

About the Presenters

Dr. Jesús Jara is the former Superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada, the nation’s fifth-largest district. Previously, he was Deputy Superintendent for Orange County Public Schools and Superintendent & Chief Operations Officer for Monroe County Public Schools in Florida. Dr. Jara also previously served as Executive Director of the College Board’s Florida Partnership, where he was responsible for increasing equitable access to services for minority and underrepresented students across the state. Dr. Jara began his career in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, where he was a bilingual biology teacher and coach, before moving to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he served as Assistant Principal and Principal. Dr. Jara’s experience also includes work as a successful executive in the private sector. A member of the third cohort of the Future Chiefs leadership development program, he received his doctorate in education, educational policy, leadership, and administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Steve Ptacek is the Superintendent of Jacksonville School District 117 in Jacksonville, Illinois. A Lebanon, Illinois native, he previously served as a Navy nuclear machinist and was principal at Richwoods High School in Peoria.

Dr. Susan Enfield is the former Superintendent of Washoe County School District in Northern Nevada, serving over 61,000 students and 103 schools. Prior to Washoe, Dr. Enfield spent a decade as Superintendent for Highline Public Schools outside Seattle, Washington. Dr. Enfield began her career in education as a high school English, ELL, and journalism teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. She later served as Chief Academic Officer and Interim Superintendent for Seattle Public Schools. Her experience also includes leadership roles in Evergreen Public Schools in Washington, Portland Public Schools in Oregon, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. She was named the 2022 Washington State Superintendent of the Year and the 2018 Superintendent of the Year. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Enfield has earned master’s degrees from Stanford and Harvard University. She also holds a doctoral degree from Harvard’s Urban Superintendents Program.

Dr. Roderick Sams is the Chief Development Officer for CENTEGIX, an organization focused on supporting communities in creating safer environments for its citizens. As a former award-winning principal, teacher, and coach, Dr. Sams has dedicated his professional life to sharing his personal mission of leading for learning. Born into a rural Georgia family as the first to achieve advanced collegiate degrees, Dr. Sams believes that success in life is determined by where you end, not where you start, and that all communities can be improved through personal and civic responsibility. Dr. Sams attended Morehouse College majoring in history/pre-law before achieving bachelor’s, education specialist, and doctoral degrees from Georgia Southern University. He has participated in several professional development programs that served as catalysts for sustained self-improvement, such as Leadership Georgia, Governor’s School Leadership Institute, Georgia School Superintendents Association, and the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement.