Christina Weiland

Publication

Making the grade: Targeted help, not being held back, offers leg up to students struggling with reading

Jun 26, 2025

Policies calling for holding children back a grade in elementary school to improve their reading skills are widespread—if unpopular—across the United States.However, the benefits to students appear to come from the support services put in place once...

News

What is the secret to better reading outcomes?

May 26, 2025 Education Week

As states have struggled for decades to improve 3rd grade literacy on a large scale, many have enacted policies to hold struggling readers back a year. Education Week recently highlighted Christina Weiland and Brian Jacob's evaluation of Michigan’s...

What is the secret to better reading outcomes?

News

New gift to support early childhood education policy research

May 14, 2025

The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan will establish the Martha Darling and Gilbert Omenn Research Fund for Early Childhood Education with a generous $500,000 commitment from Martha A. Darling and Gilbert S....

New gift to support early childhood education policy research

News

"We can do better than this" – Weiland Kohn lecture on closing early education gaps

Apr 20, 2025

Christina Weiland, co-director of the Education Policy Initiative and professor at the Ford School, delivered her inaugural lecture as the Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy. Weiland, who is also a professor at the Marsal Family School...

"We can do better than this" – Weiland Kohn lecture on closing early education gaps

News

Federal funding supports critical education research at the University of Michigan

Mar 21, 2025

A new brief from the Ford School's Education Policy Initiative and Youth Policy Lab shows the impact of federally funded education research. The policy-relevant research is developed in partnership with local and state agencies, practitioners, and...

Federal funding supports critical education research at the University of Michigan

News

Weiland: COVID-19, 5 years on: Lingering impacts and pandemic preparedness

Mar 11, 2025

March 11 marked five years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The Ford School's Christina Weiland discusses continued effects in education, business and society. Weiland is co-director of the Education Policy...

Smart from the Start: Closing Early Opportunity Gaps with Strategic Early Learning Investments

News

Cohodes, Jacob, and Weiland make Education Week’s 2025 public influence rankings

Jan 9, 2025

Education Week has announced the annual 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, which highlights scholars who made significant contributions to educational practice and policy in the past year.Three Ford School faculty members have been...

Cohodes, Jacob, and Weiland make Education Week’s 2025 public influence rankings

News

U-M’s Education Policy Initiative launches project to boost early learning success with new curriculum readiness measure

Jan 6, 2025

To improve early learning programs nationwide, policymakers and funders are investing in curriculum, professional development, and assessments. However, ensuring educational partners are well-prepared to deliver them remains a crucial step.With a...

U-M’s Education Policy Initiative launches project to boost early learning success with new curriculum readiness measure

State & Hill

Greater than its sum: an update on the Kohn Collaborative

Dec 17, 2024

Six years ago, Harold and Carol Kohn approached the Ford School with a vision. Their goal was to help build a vibrant research community dedicated to promoting social equity and inclusion. Today, the Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy is poised to...

Greater than its sum: an update on the Kohn Collaborative

News

Weiland named to new EdReports' pre-K curriculum review board

Aug 27, 2024

Christina Weiland, Ford School and Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy, and co-director of the Education Policy Initiative, was named to EdReports’ New Advisory Board for Pre-K Curriculum Reviews to support "educators by providing...

Weiland named to new EdReports' pre-K curriculum review board

News

U-M Ford School welcomes renowned scholars and former city leaders

Aug 22, 2024

The Ford School successfully grew our faculty in 2024, bringing in experts to deepen our focus on early childhood education, health and aging, better government, and criminal justice policy. Additionally, we welcomed distinguished policymakers in...

U-M Ford School welcomes renowned scholars and former city leaders

Publication

Transitional kindergarten programs expand early education access, boost academic gain

Aug 16, 2024

Children enrolled in transitional kindergarten programs in Michigan did better in math and English by the time they reached 3rd grade, with higher test scores than other kids who didn't go through the program, according to a new policy brief from...

Transitional kindergarten programs expand early education access, boost academic gain

News

Weiland named inaugural Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy

Jul 18, 2024

Today the Regents of the University of Michigan approved Christina Weiland’s appointment as the inaugural Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.With a gift from Hal and Carol Kohn and the Kohn...

Weiland named inaugural Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy

News

Most preschool curricula under-deliver, but it doesn’t have to be that way

Jul 1, 2024

Ford School professor Christina Weiland coauthored an opinion piece with Deborah Phillips for The Hechinger Report about how the preschool curriculum has been underdeveloped and overlooked. Weiland wrote that there is a long overdue movement in...

Most preschool curricula under-deliver, but it doesn’t have to be that way

News

Stange and Weiland promoted to full professors

May 16, 2024

On May 16, the Regents of the University of Michigan approved promotions for Kevin Stange and Christina Weiland. Stange was promoted to professor of public policy, with tenure, and professor of education. Weiland was promoted to professor of...

Stange and Weiland promoted to full professors

Publication

U-M researchers partner with District of Columbia Public Schools for Pre-K curriculum implementation study

Apr 24, 2024

University of Michigan researchers from the Education Policy Initiative (EPI) at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the Marsal Family School of Education have partnered with MDRC, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), and the Urban...

Publication

NASEM committee including EPI’s Christina Weiland urges changes to preschool curricula to improve equity and support high-quality early education in the U.S.

Apr 18, 2024

A new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) lays out a new vision for high-quality preschool curricula that support equitable early education for all children. The report recommends that in the next five...

News

Education research in service of others

Apr 11, 2024

2022 Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellow and Education Policy Initiative (EPI) Research Assistant Katie Hyland (MPP ‘24) is set to graduate this spring following the completion of her Master’s in Public Policy. She takes with her two years of...

News

Hamp contributes her unique perspective on Pre-K for All

Jan 30, 2024

Nikki Hamp (MPA ‘23) had several professional lives before arriving at the Ford School. An MD, she is a board-certified developmental behavioral pediatrician, and until recently has been the medical director of the Arbor Autism Clinic in Ypsilanti...

Hamp contributes her unique perspective on Pre-K for All

News

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

Jan 28, 2024

The University of Michigan has published an experts guide to the 2024 elections. Ford School faculty are available to offer insights on relevant issues impacting the elections, including the following: Economics Betsey Stevenson, professor of...

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

News

Jacob and Weiland make the 2024 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings

Jan 28, 2024

Education Week has unveiled the annual 2024 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings which rank education scholars based on criteria that determines who has made the largest impact in their field over the previous year. Christina Weiland, faculty...

Jacob and Weiland make the 2024 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings

Publication

Weiland addresses Michigan's $107M preschool education investment

Dec 11, 2023

Christina Weiland, faculty co-director of the Education Policy Initiative, has studied pre-K programs around the country. The state of Michigan will spend an additional $107M in its 2023-2024 budget on pre-K, hoping to increase the number of...

Publication

U-M education researchers present evidence-based findings and analysis to inform Michigan’s Pre-K-for-All goals

Dec 6, 2023

Achieving Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s aim of universal Pre-K, made in her State of the State address in January 2023, will require building upon its established programs and making some adjustments to the state’s education system. A...

News

Seattle Times endorses Weiland pre-K for all plan in Washington state

Aug 12, 2023

Calling for early education for all, the Seattle Times Editorial Board has endorsed a plan by Christina Weiland, Education Policy Initiative faculty co-director, and her colleagues for universal pre-k in Washington state. Weiland’s 2021 policy...

News

Weiland's expertise cited on Boston's pre-K success

Jul 10, 2023

An article in HuffPost highlights the efforts in Boston to provide Universal Pre-K, and refers to the expertise of Christina Weiland, faculty co-director of the Education Policy Initiative (EPI). The Boston program was initiated in 2005, and since...

Publication

Learning from lottery-based evaluations of early education programs

Apr 19, 2023

The value of Pre-K education has been widely acknowledged through decades of research. However, much of that research has come from studying older and often smaller programs than those currently being implemented across the country. To determine how...

News

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

Feb 16, 2023

Elected officials from local, county, and state government came to the Ford School to hear about the potential for collaborations with their offices and the School’s faculty, research centers, and students. Fifteen members of the Michigan State...

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

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...

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...