Biraj Bisht, Education Research Data Specialist

How did you become interested in education policy?

I was initially drawn to understanding education through my own schooling experience across three different countries. I started my K-12 schooling in Nepal and India and then moved to the U.S for college. I think this gave me a sense of curiosity to understand how different countries provide accessible and quality education.

While in college, I took a course through the Inside-Out program that completely changed my perspective on education. This unique educational model brings college students and incarcerated people to study as peers in a seminar behind the prison walls. It brought two unlikely groups together to discuss ethics and justice through the classics, but it was the conversations we had in class that were most illuminating. It was an opportunity that pushed me to reconsider what I had known about the criminal justice and education system and the related policies as crucial levers for human development and reducing inequality.

As a researcher what has the experience at Annenberg been like for you?

It has been really exciting to be a part of this growing research community. I feel fortunate to work closely with and learn from Nate Schwartz and Susanna Loeb, who are impressive researchers and kind and thoughtful leaders. Our research practice partnerships with school districts locally and nationally have underscored for me the importance of such collaborations for researchers to better understand the challenges and opportunities in schools.

In 2021, what is the most pressing issue in education policy?

This has been an unusual year for all students, but the harmful effects of this pandemic will not affect everyone the same. I’m concerned that the impact of the pandemic will widen the educational gap within and across countries. The effects will likely be most damaging for children in the poorest neighborhoods, the poorest countries, and those in already vulnerable situations.

Is there a low-cost policy solution to help students learn more effectively and/or better support teachers in the classroom?

This is an important question right now as the latest federal stimulus dollars include funding for K-12 school districts to combat learning losses from the pandemic. High dosage tutoring has been highlighted recently as a particularly well-suited solution for this moment, and for a good reason. These programs’ impacts are impressive, — and not just for the student academic outcomes — as these programs create opportunities to build relationships and provide individualized attention to students.

Senior Research Associate

Why did you become interested in education policy?

In college, I actually had plans to be a high school teacher or guidance counselor. However, I quickly realized that what really piqued my interest was gaining an understanding of the structural nature of inequality in our schools, as opposed to being in the classroom myself. I chose policy research because I love the process of producing knowledge that can then be used in various ways to improve systems and to help all students thrive. With that said, though, my roots as an immigrant and a first-generation college student most deeply influenced my interests in education policy. My early experiences of poverty and of being an English Learner continue to color my perspectives on various policies and their ability to set up students for success, regardless of their background or starting point.

As a senior researcher what has the experience at Annenberg been like for you?

After finishing my PhD, I wanted to explore multiple avenues of work while continuing to develop my own research agenda. As a senior researcher, I have the chance to do just that. First, I work with Susanna Loeb, director of Annenberg Institute, on producing educational research on various topics. I also manage the research-practice partnerships with the San Francisco Unified School District. Here and there, I can be found on internal teams that collaborate on strategic alignment (like the Diversity and Inclusion Action Planning Committee) or are in the process of kicking off new initiatives (like the Accelerator).
It goes without saying that there are a wealth of opportunities available here to do research that is both high-impact and extremely relevant. Because Annenberg as it currently stands is a relatively new space, everyone has a say in the direction we take in our work, regardless of whether you are a budding researcher or world-renowned faculty, and I find that to be a lot of fun. More than anything, I love that Annenberg is full of collaborative, hard-working, and compassionate people who care about each other and about the world.

In 2021, what is the most pressing issue in education policy?

There are so many issues to consider as the world returns to a new normal in this new phase of the pandemic! One that continually keeps me up at night is the role that the pandemic is playing in increasing inequalities across our families and students. I worry about the poorest and most under-resourced students among us, not only in terms of unfinished learning but also in terms of connections with peers/supportive adults, safety and physical/mental/emotional well-being, and their ability to receive whatever resources they need. I worry about the impact of social isolation and trauma, especially on our youngest students and those who were already dealing with trauma of their own before the pandemic hit. I also worry about students going unseen during the pandemic, as we are unable to measure how much many of them have learned, how they are engaging in their learning, or how they are faring in general in the current climate. These are some of the issues that I hope that we can prioritize in policies, and that we as researchers, policymakers, and practitioners can move on quickly and strategically to support students in greatest need.

Is there a low-cost policy solution to help students learn more effectively and/or better support teachers in the classroom?

My belief is that effectively engaging families and other supportive adults carries the potential to improve student outcomes at relatively little cost. In prior research I have found that a low-cost intervention engaging families and providing them with information about their students helps correct misbeliefs about their students’ attendance in schools and decreases chronic absenteeism rates. Adults like families, coaches, and tutors are already often readily available as resources, and providing them with information or an actionable plan to support students in certain circumstances can help improve student outcomes, while decreasing the burden for classroom teachers to do the same while juggling many other work tasks. Ongoing work at Annenberg (i.e., the National Student Support Accelerator) also engages this belief in its examination of high-impact tutoring interventions and programs at scale, and I am optimistic about its potential to support students and schools, especially during these precarious times.

Why did you become interested in education policy?

Melissa Arnold Lyon, Postdoctoral Research Associate

I became interested in education policy first during my undergraduate years, reflecting on my own schooling experience in Memphis, TN. From the outside, my school looked well-integrated with a mix of Black and white students, but in actuality this masked nearly perfect segregation within the school due to a purportedly academic tracking program, in an elementary school.

I decided to become a teacher and, since I had not majored in education, I found a job teaching sixth grade English at a charter school through Teach For America. Though my school was very highly regarded, my colleagues and I experienced very difficult working conditions with very high rates of teacher turnover that affected the whole school community. For that reason, I came to graduate school thinking I would study teacher unionization in charter schools, but as I learned more about education policy, I realized that these experiences driving my interest in policy were products of broader political institutions and economic structures. Now, I study the political economy of education, emphasizing how political processes shape the incentives and behaviors of market actors and simultaneously how the economy shapes power, politics, and governance.

As a postdoctoral fellow what has the experience at Annenberg been like for you?

It’s been great! I didn’t have a Master’s Degree before I started my PhD, and I felt like my five years of graduate school just flew by. As I was nearing my dissertation defense, I needed more time to figure out who I want to be as a scholar and how to drive my own research agenda. The Annenberg postdoc has given me that opportunity in a way that has been very introspective and reflective, probably in part because of the isolation of the pandemic but also because I have a new sense of agency.

I have really benefited from standing on the shoulders of giants at Brown. I am learning a ton from Matt Kraft, Susanna Loeb, and the other postdocs (THEY’RE SO WONDERFUL). I’ve also benefited immensely from the collaborative and productive discourse at Annenberg (like our Half-Baked Workshops and the Seminar Series) and around Brown, at places like the Watson Institute. 

In 2021, what is the most pressing issue in education policy?

Can teachers be an issue? If so, I think teachers. We have decades of evidence about the importance of teachers in shaping school experiences and student outcomes, yet we don’t treat our teachers very well, on the whole. We need a teacher workforce that has the ability to teach with love and compassion, reflects the diversity of our students, feels respected, and stays teaching.

Is there a low cost policy solution to help students learn more effectively and/or better support teachers in the classroom?

I think we have to get more serious about resource equity. To do that at low cost would mean redistributing the money spent on children in high income schools to lower income schools. The new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) mandates school-by-school expenditure data, which will begin to give us the opportunity to understand school spending better. I’m excited about what we’ll learn from those data sets.

By “get more serious” though, I mean we have to consider not just formal expenditures but also the supplemental resources that higher income schools are bringing to bear on teaching and learning, from PTA donations to private tutoring to extracurricular activities. Getting more serious also means listening to the perspectives of families and teachers within school districts about how money should be spent, and listening in a way that prioritizes equity.

The challenge will be mobilizing political will. Highly educated, high-income, white parents have had a lot of say in school politics for a long time. A good part of their influence is related to the inherently local flavor of school decision making and financing that we’ve got in the U.S. Wealthy individuals and businesses also have the ability to “vote with their feet” if taxes get too high. I think genuine, on-the-ground organizing efforts and community coalitions have the potential to start to overcome power imbalances, and we’ve seen a surge in organizing over the past few years that makes me hopeful.

Learning agenda offers roadmap for transforming PD research and practice

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (August 31, 2021)—Today the Research Partnership for Professional Learning (RPPL) launches a learning agenda and call to action to transform professional learning (PL) research and practice. The collaborative of researchers and PL organizations will generate new knowledge on how teacher learning improves classroom experiences and academic growth, especially for students from historically marginalized groups. 

“We know that professional learning can work to improve teachers’ practice and student outcomes, but there’s more we need to learn to fully realize its potential to advance teaching and educational equity,” says Sarah Johnson, Vice Chair of RPPL and CEO of Teaching Lab. 

​​RPPL brings together Achievement Network, Instruction Partners, Leading Educators, Teaching Lab, TNTP, and UnboundEd, whose multiple learning models have been implemented across more than 700 school districts nationwide. The research team is led by experts in teacher learning and improvement at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, including Drs. Heather Hill, Susanna Loeb, John Papay, and Nathaniel Schwartz, with Dr. Robert Q. Berry, III of the University of Virginia advising.

"Our approach seeks to turn on its head traditional research about teacher professional learning," says Hill. "Most experimental studies of PL look at the effectiveness of a single program. Through our collaboration with these leading PL organizations, we will be able to expand our understanding of the different design features that support adult learning and lead to sustained changes in teacher mindsets, instructional practices, and student outcomes."

The partnership will focus its initial research on whether and how PL content centered on equitable teaching practices can improve student outcomes and classroom environments, and develop teacher expertise around high-quality instruction.

“Teachers are change agents who have the potential to transform classrooms, schools, and communities into spaces where students can thrive,” says Dr. Berry. “Their knowledge, skills, and abilities are critical to student learning right now.”

For more details and to read the full learning agenda, visit www.rpplpartnership.org. To speak with RPPL leadership, email team@rpplpartnership.org. 

RPPL is supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and others.

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About RPPL: The Research Partnership for Professional Learning (RPPL) is a collaborative of professional learning organizations, researchers, and foundations committed to advancing the collective understanding of how to support teacher professional learning that leads to equitable student outcomes for historically marginalized students. RPPL seeks to identify the features of professional learning that dramatically accelerate improvements in students' classroom experiences, well-being, and academic growth; and to generate and share insights that can guide other professional learning organizations to strengthen their program design, results, and efficiency.