Dr. Hope Davis, literacy expert, Indiana University

Dr. Hope Davis, former English Department Chair, Purcell Marian High School, current professor of literacy, Indiana University

I have known Jason Haap for over ten years, and in that time I have marveled at his ability to encourage and cultivate critical thinking and creativity in his students. In his classes, Jason held his students to high standards, and the students rose to meet them, regardless of how they performed or were perceived in other classes.  Jason’s drive to educate students went beyond earning passable grades to instilling an expectation that they were responsible for their own learning and achievement, both within and outside the school walls, and the students responded.  Demonstrating a true belief in and passion for social justice and personal intellectual curiosity, Jason inspired the students to push themselves beyond what they thought they were capable of doing, and I watched this type of rigorous growth and development occur in his classes year after year.

Jason’s expectations for his colleagues were as rigorous as his expectations for the students in his classes. As a teacher in the English department at Purcell Marian High school, Jason was never satisfied with the status quo, and continually directed his energy and talents toward learning about, implementing, and refining educational practices that required students to be thoughtful and reflective – and he worked to share those ideas and strategies with others.