Departments and Research Centers

Education Policy Initiative

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Showing 1 - 30 of 568 results
Staff

Sophia Dara

Research Assistant
Sophia Dara is an undergraduate senior pursuing a BA in Public Policy at UM. She also has minors in Education for Empowerment: Advancing Equity through Education Policy and Spanish. Her areas of interest include early childhood and K-12 education,…
sophia-dara-profile-picture
Staff

Molly Kraine

Student Graphic Designer
Molly Kraine is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan pursuing degrees in UX Design and Digital Art. At the Education Policy Initiative, Molly assists with updating the website and designing promotional materials. She is interested…
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Staff

Lauren O'Hair

Research Assistant
Lauren O'Hair is a research assistant at the Education Policy Initiative. She is a first-year MPP student with an interest in education policy due to her seven years as an elementary teacher in both public and charter schools across the country. This…
Lauren O'Hair profile picture
Affiliates

Deborah Rivas-Drake

Professor, School of Education; Professor Psychology, College of Literature, Science and the Arts
Deborah Rivas-Drake, is a Professor of Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan. Together with the Contexts of Academic + Socioemotional Adjustment (CASA) Lab, she examines how school, peer, family, and community settings can support…
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Staff

Stacey Rzeszut

Administrative Coordinator
Stacey Rzeszut is the administrative coordinator for EPI and provides fiscal, operational and administrative support to the EPI team and predoctoral candidates. Outside of work, Stacey enjoys traveling with her…
Headshot of Stacey Rzeszut
Staff

Anne Taylor

Senior Data Analyst, Education Policy Initiative
Annie Taylor is a senior data analyst with the Education Policy Initiative. Her work at EPI focuses on early childhood projects, including designing and implementing research agendas for universal preschool programs in the Boston area. She joined EPI…
Annie Taylor_directory
Staff

Qia Yang

Data Programmer
Qia Yang is the data programmer at the Education Policy Initiative. His primary work is to maintain the Michigan Education Data Center, import data from the State of Michigan and export data to MERI researchers. He also optimizes the code in MEDC to…
Qia Yang profile
In the Media

Weiland touts her preschool research findings

Feb 8, 2023 MIT News
Christina Weiland, MIT News: "I am really excited by this work. We’re seeing the really positive long-term effects of attending preschool. A really important question is not only whether preschool works, yes or no, but how, and what kind of...
Weiland touts her preschool research findings
In the Media

Investment in Pre-K can expand access, increase pay - Weiland

Feb 6, 2023 Chalkbeat Detroit
Chalkboard Detroit: A shift toward free preschool for all 4-year-olds — which the Legislature will debate this session — could increase access and improve teacher pay at the same time. Indeed, that’s what happened in other states with universal...
Investment in Pre-K can expand access, increase pay - Weiland
Publication

EPI brief looks at "Pre-k boost"

Jan 31, 2023
Children who attend a prekindergarten (Pre-K) program generally score higher on academic, social-emotional, and cognitive assessments at the start of kindergarten than children who do not. However, Pre-K nonattenders typically catch up to Pre-K...
EPI brief looks at "Pre-k boost"
Publication

Overcoming data collection challenges in ECE research

Jan 24, 2023
Rigorous research in early care and education requires high-quality data, often gathered through intensive in-person fieldwork. The COVID-19 pandemic upended the ECE sector, making it much more challenging to safely and successfully collect data in...
Overcoming data collection challenges in ECE research
News

Announcing winter 2023 Ford School events

Jan 11, 2023
 The Ford School is pleased to announce an exciting lineup for the winter 2023 Policy Talks @ the Ford School series and other special public events hosted with partners from across campus. Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise...
Announcing winter 2023 Ford School events
State & Hill

Dot to dot

Dec 19, 2022
The Education Policy Initiative connects researchers and policymakers—helping make good use of their one-of-a-kind secure data clearinghouse By Daniel Rivkin A recent research project examined the ties between school funding and crime in Michigan....
Dot to dot
State & Hill

Education policy at the Ford School

Dec 19, 2022
Interdisciplinary, rigorous, and committed to real world impact and to mentoring: the Ford School has one of the strongest education policy programs in the country.  How did we get there? S&H asked the scholar at the front of the class, economist...
Education policy at the Ford School
State & Hill

COVID-19 and education: A tough time for all

Dec 19, 2022
Ford School education researchers look for answers By Shaun Manning From early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered public education in the United States. Many schools introduced remote learning for at least part of the 2020-2021...
COVID-19 and education: A tough time for all
State & Hill

An economic eye on equity in higher ed

Dec 19, 2022
As the first chief economist in the U.S. Department of Education, Ford School alumnus Jordan Matsudaira (PhD ’05), seeks to identify and implement policies that best promote student success—academically and financially—in higher education. Ford...
An economic eye on equity in higher ed
News

Tompkins-Stange weighs in on no-strings-attached donations

Dec 5, 2022
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott is changing the world of education philanthropy by giving no-strings-attached, multimillion-dollar donations to schools. Megan Tompkins-Stange, associate professor of public policy, analyzed the donations, and the...
Tompkins-Stange weighs in on no-strings-attached donations
News

EPI examines education impacts of the Flint Water Crisis

Dec 4, 2022
Eight years ago, the Flint water crisis captured national attention when the city’s tap water was shown to be contaminated with lead. Since then, researchers have been rigorously studying this crisis and measuring the effects of this lead exposure...
EPI examines education impacts of the Flint Water Crisis
In the Media

Michelmore breaks down Child Tax Credit study

Oct 20, 2022 Michigan Radio
Katherine Michelmore, Michigan Radio: “It takes a long time to determine whether a policy did something good. I think we’re showing in the short term it certainly is improving the material well-being of very low-income families in the U.S. So that’s...
Michelmore breaks down Child Tax Credit study
News

Mussadiq looks at northern Michigan school enrollment trends

Oct 19, 2022
Northern Michigan has continually seen a decline in school-aged children. But, during the pandemic, that trend became more prominent. Tareena Mussadiq, Institute of Education Sciences postdoctoral fellow with the Education Policy Initiative, broke...
Mussadiq looks at northern Michigan school enrollment trends