As part of Brown Climate Week, practitioners from across Rhode Island explored how education policy, school leadership, and environmental partnerships shape climate learning in schools.

Anne, an MAT student, was drawn to Brown’s program for its action-oriented commitment to Providence schools and has since found a deep sense of community and joy within her cohort and inspiring professors. Driven by a passion for education as a tool for liberation, she is particularly excited to lead student-centered Socratic Seminars that foster analytical thinking and critical dialogue.

A Brown UEP student and veteran leader reflects on resilience and community.

Professor of Education Matthew Kraft provided commentary on an analysis he co-led on time in school across the U.S.

A study led by researchers at Brown’s Annenberg Institute found that millions of American PreK-12 students attend classes within a quarter mile of an environmental hazard site, and nearly half of public and private schools are within a mile of such a site. “[The] findings really shocked us,” Professor of Education Matthew Kraft said. “This data shows this should be a topic that is a central part of our discussion of how we support teaching and learning in our public and private schools.”

A winter session course blended Spanish immersion and arts literacy to connect global experience with local classrooms.

Keidy’s capstone created culturally affirming college-access workshops for border youth in El Paso from community knowledge and lived experience.

Professor of Education Matthew Kraft, founding director of the Sustainable Education Research Initiative at Brown’s Annenberg Institute, was interviewed on “Possibly,” a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative and Ocean State Media.

Aziza Alford, a Brown Urban Education Policy student and NYC native, is leveraging her background in Health & Human Biology and Africana Studies to analyze the systemic structures behind educational inequity. Currently interning at the Annenberg Institute, she is dedicated to mastering policy analysis tools before fulfilling a three-year commitment to serve the Rhode Island education community.

Unique professional development series designed to bring university research to middle and high school students.

In this podcast, Associate Professor of Education Policy John Papay discusses Rhode Island’s education funding formula, which determines how much money the state sends to each school district.

“Based on a broad body of rigorous research, time in school is a fundamental resource for educational success,” said Matthew Kraft, a professor of education and economics at Brown University. “The findings [are] overwhelmingly clear that on average, more instructional time improves student learning outcomes, including student performance on state standardized tests.”

Professors Matthew Kraft, John Papay, and Lindsay Page were named to the 2026 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings.

These rankings recognize the 200 university-based scholars in the United States who had the biggest impact on educational practice and policy last year.

The Education Department is introducing several new courses this spring: E pluribus unum: English and Engaged Citizenship in the United States; Developmental and Educational Journeys of Students in Immigrant Families; Education as Freedom?: Educational Access and Immigration Activism in the US South; Education for the Future: Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Scale.

Urban Education Policy student expands his mission of joyful representation with new alphabet book.

Happy is an MAT student in the English cohort who views the classroom as a site of liberation. She is leveraging her experiences as a Brown undergraduate and in the MAT program to create meaningful learning opportunities for students and finding her greatest joy in the supportive, thoughtful community of her cohort.

EDUC 1015: Reimagining Power: Community-Driven Evaluation and Education examines trust-based philanthropy practices.

A growing body of research shows that students benefit when they demographically match their teachers. However, little is known about how matching affects social-emotional development. Professor Christopher Cleveland and his co-authors use student-fixed effects to exploit changes over time in the proportion of teachers within a school grade who demographically match a student to estimate the effect on social-emotional measures, test scores, and behavioral outcomes

Conor sees teaching as an act of love and hope, drawing inspiration from thinkers like bell hooks and the concept of "freedom-dreaming for the future." He was drawn to Brown's one-year Master of Arts in Teaching program for its small cohort model and commitment to culturally responsive pedagogy, which he is currently applying in practice while student teaching at Blackstone Academy Charter School.

Phoebe brings a passion for community and the role of administration in advancing educational change.

Lizzy graduated from the UEP program in 2025 and is currently an Education Specialist at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.