Elliot Regenstein will discuss how state early childhood systems really work – how state governments oversee publicly funded programs, how community capacity supports state work, how advocates and philanthropists try to exercise influence, and how data is used to shape policy.
Faculty sexual misconduct targeted at students is a widespread problem. The consequences of such incidents include direct harm to victims and may also entail a loss to science if students who encounter misconduct become discouraged from continuing their studies in their chosen field.
This talk explores new ways of making sense of racism as it operates across institutions and systems. The presentation highlights emerging ideas that sharpen how scholars and practitioners might define, study, and respond to racial inequities. By tracing connections between theory, measurement, and policy, the discussion invites participants to consider what becomes possible when we approach racism with greater conceptual clarity. The goal is not just to revisit old debates, but to spark a forward-looking conversation about how definitions shape research design, intervention, and social change.
This Ed Policy discussion looks at the impact of philanthropy’s contribution to improving postsecondary access and success. Over the past 15 years, several foundations, including the Kresge Foundation based in metro Detroit, have partnered together and with nonprofits, universities and community colleges to improve postsecondary attainment among US adults, moving the needle from 38% in 2008 to 54.9% as of 2023. Hear how they did it – and how the approach is gaining traction overseas, too.
Many prominent social scientists have advocated for random-draw lotteries as a solution to the “problem” of college admissions. They argue that lotteries will be fair and equitable, eliminate corruption, reduce student anxiety, restore democratic ideals, and end debates over race-conscious admissions. In response, we simulate potential lottery effects on student enrollment by race, gender, and income, using robust simulation methods. If we went to a lottery system, what would happen to student diversity? And how would this change the built relationship between students and selective colleges?
Sense of belonging has long been recognized as a fundamental psychological need and essential component of achievement motivation and socioemotional thriving. However, research on school belonging has only recently begun to examine the barriers to, supports for, and experiences of belonging among racially marginalized students of color within US schools and universities.
Despite the relative rarity of firearm-related violence and injury in U.S. schools, the salience of school shooting events can influence local-, state-, and even federal-level school safety policy. I discuss concerns related to such direction, including: 1) a lack of evidence-based strategies to prevent firearm injury in schools; 2) the disproportionate burden of students exposed to 'school hardening' strategies; and 3) student needs overshadowed by a focus on extreme violence.
Educator staffing shortages have drawn considerable attention from policymakers and the public in recent years. While much attention is directed towards K-12 teachers, there is growing concern about shortages of substitute teachers because of the negative impact on teachers and administrators when schools regularly have insufficient staff to cover teacher absences and vacancies.
In this presentation, Drs. McCormick and Sachs will discuss how their experiences as a researcher and practitioner working in partnership have prepared them for their new roles at the Overdeck Family Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. They will also share opportunities they see to use research and evaluation to make a positive impact on education policy and how these opportunities vary across roles.
Underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic workers in STEM fields contributes to racial wage gaps and reduces innovation and economic growth. Billions of dollars a year are spent on "pipeline'' programs to increase diversity in STEM, but there is little rigorous evidence of their efficacy.
The goal of the conference is to facilitate dialogue between policymakers, practitioners, and researchers around the changing nature of skill demand in the U.S. workforce and how postsecondary institutions can better respond to these changes. The conference is made possible through funding from the National Science Foundation.
Despite the growing interest in social and emotional learning (SEL) implementation in K-12 settings, few measures exist to assess teachers’ SEL practices. In this talk, we describe the interactive mixed-method approach we took in developing the Racial Equity-oriented Social and Emotional Learning (REQSEL) practices measure.
Postsecondary education plays a vital role in promoting intergenerational mobility in the United States; however, there are large and growing gaps in college attendance, college quality, and college completion rates by family income. As a policy response, colleges and universities have tried to increase economic diversity, and several interventions have been promising.
Diversifying the teaching force could be a key step to closing student achievement gaps and moving schools closer to equity goals. In their book, Teacher Diversity and Student Success: Why Racial Representation Matters in the Classroom, Seth Gershenson, Brookings Senior Fellow Michael Hansen, and Constance Lindsay present nuanced policy recommendations to increase teacher diversity in classrooms and promote more inclusive schools.
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
EPI Speaker Series,
Gilbert S. Omenn and Martha A. Darling Health Policy Fund
Join Professor Brian Jacob for a conversation on the academic impacts of the Flint Water Crisis 7-8 years later, and the big picture implications for young people in the community, featuring Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha - recognized as one of USA Today’s Women of the Century for her role in uncovering the Flint water crisis and leading recovery effort - alongside Dr. Sam Trejo, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Princeton University, and Flint Community Schools Superintendent Kevelin Jones.
In this talk, Professors Michelmore and Pilkauskas will discuss their study the effect of one of the largest work-contingent cash transfer programs in the United States – the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – on the child care arrangements of children.
Professor Tepper Jacob's talk will tell the story of an on-going evaluation of the Reading Partners program, a successful one-on-one volunteer tutoring program that serves struggling readers in elementary schools serving students from families with low-income
As a part of the Education Policy Speaker Series, Rodriguez, Davis, and Deane will discuss racialized policymaking that pushes back on the race-neutral framings of prevailing policy-making theories...
Join our talk with Chris Weiland and Tim Burgess, co-authors of a recent policy report addressing the failure to provide high-quality universal preschool for all three- and four-year-old children in Washington.
Tompkins-Stange will discuss a proposal that nurtures increased collaboration between one Detroit neighborhood and philanthropy to improve the quality of early childhood education programs.
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
EPI Speaker Series
Join us for a conversation on modern discourse with Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom, moderated by Dr. Celeste Watkins-Hayes, as they discuss the topics in her new book, Thick, including race, gender, inequality, higher education access, technology, culture, and more.
Join EPI's scholars at 27 roundtables, panels and poster sessions, and help us to celebrate Susan Dynarski's selection as the recipient of APPAM's Spencer Award for transformative work in education policy research.
Free and open to the public. Pizza lunch provided at 11:25am to the first 100 guests. Sponsored by: The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) Co-sponsored by: The Education Policy Initiative (EPI) and the University of Michigan School of Education For more information visit www.closup.umich.edu or call 734-647-4091. Follow on Twitter @closup
