John Pruette is a Senior Policy Consultant for EducationCounsel, a mission-based education consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Currently, his work is focused on improving the quality and alignment of early childhood education systems through the strengthening of statewide and district-level infrastructure, teacher and leadership preparation, and continuous quality improvement efforts.
John has over thirty years of experience in early education, policy and advocacy, and state government. His professional experiences include: Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Executive Director, North Carolina Office of Early Learning; and Program and Policy Chief, Office of the Governor (NC). His influence in the early childhood field is most notably seen in the nationally recognized, exemplar pre-k program, More at Four (now NC Pre-K). He has served on many state and national boards, commissions, and committees focused on early education and is a Past President of the National Association of Early Childhood Specialist in State Departments of Education. John began his career as a kindergarten curriculum specialist and early childhood classroom teacher in Guilford County Schools in North Carolina.