Nicole Mathis graduated from Brown's Master of Arts in Teaching program in 1996 and is an Assistant Principal at Classical High School in Providence, RI. 

The Swearer Center provides Community-Based Learning and Research (CBLR) Course Mini-Grants to instructors of undergraduate and graduate courses at Brown, in order to support the implementation of high-impact community-engaged learning experiences.

The Board of Overseers of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University established the permanent annual scholarship in 2012 for an Urban Education Policy masters student who most epitomizes the former Brown University president’s commitment to educational equity and social justice.

The move away from exit exams has a lot to do with a growing sense that, while standardized tests measure student learning, they don’t capture the full range of student abilities, said John Papay, an associate professor of education at Brown University who studies high-stakes testing.

New research from the Annenberg Institute offers a case study of how one state, Massachusetts, has fared in addressing the needs of a unique English-learner population and what lessons other states can learn.

In his latest column for Kappan, Professor Jonathan Collins explains that superintendent turnover is one of the biggest problems plaguing urban school districts.

A team of Annenberg Institute researchers, including Professor John Papay, has released a report on the demographic characteristics and educational outcomes of high school newcomers, defined as English learners (ELs) in their first 12 months of schooling in the United States.

“We ask the K-12 school system to do lots of things,” said John Papay, an associate professor at Brown University who studies high-stakes testing. “One of the questions is ‘How do we have requirements ensure students leave high school ready to live productive lives?’”

A psychologist and an economist walk into a debate … Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and Matthew A. Kraft, associate professor of education and economics at Brown University, discuss looping—staying with the same teacher for multiple years.

“Our work shows that there is good evidence that the MCAS is measuring the academic skills of students,” said John Papay, associate professor of education and economics at Brown University and director of the Annenberg Institute. If MCAS scores simply reflected “teaching to the test, we wouldn’t see the same relationship with long-term outcomes that we do,” the Brown economist noted.

Ellie Jurmann is a current senior in Brown's Combined Baccalaureate/Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program. After completing her undergraduate degree in 2024, she will enroll in the MAT program as a member of the mathematics cohort.

Adam Jackson is from Carlisle, PA, and is a current student in our MAT-Science Education program. He has a B.A. in Physics from Wesleyan University.

In an increasingly competitive academic environment, high school students often turn to data to inform their college application decisions. Professor Lindsay Page and others show that the adoption of one popular tool to view historical admissions data, Naviance, inadvertently dissuaded many high-achieving high school students from applying to colleges for which they were competitive.

In July, Professor Tricia Kelly traveled to Guatemala with educators and pre-service teachers to engage with local educators, youth, and families, and to exchange ideas and understanding of Guatemalan and U.S. educational systems and practices. Here she reflects on the experience.

In this chapter, Professor Lindsay Page and co-authors present the economic rationale for financial aid, a summary of how aid works in the US context, and common methodological challenges in the study of financial aid.

Three grads of Brown’s master’s program in urban education policy are working to help Providence families get their kids to college. One, Madalyn Ciampi ’17 AM, helped launch the nonprofit Providence Promise six years ago and is the organization’s executive director. Two others joined her: Rachel Palumbo ’21 AM, development manager, and Chandana Srinivas ’21 AM, family engagement director.

A team of researchers, including Professor John Papay, has released a new report on the challenges and opportunities that Rhode Island's education system faces as the state emerges from the pandemic. As a valuable resource for ongoing efforts to enhance public education across the state, the report underscores the importance of collective action in ensuring a brighter future for Rhode Island's students.

In August, LeBron James' I Promise school in Ohio came under scrutiny for its low test scores. District politics and systems may be ruining LeBron’s initiative, writes Professor Jonathan Collins.

On this episode of "Trending Globally" Dan Richards talks with Professor Jonathan Collins about participatory budgeting — where it came from, what it looks like on the ground, and how it might help strengthen our democracy, one community at a time.

Danielle Emerson '23 is a Diné writer from Shiprock, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation. She has a B.A. in Education Studies and a B.A. in Literary Arts from Brown University. She writes fiction, poetry, plays, and creative essays, drawing on personal narratives and places of home—wherever that may be.

Despite documented benefits to college completion, more than a third of students who initially enroll in college do not ultimately earn a credential. A paper co-authored by Professor Lindsay Page reports on the effect of a text-based chatbot with artificial intelligence (AI) capability on college students' academic task navigation in introductory courses.

Professor Yoko Yamamoto and co-author, Naoko Yabuta, published a book chapter in "Contemporary Perspectives on Research on Immigration in Early Childhood Education." In addition to demonstrating cultural beliefs and educational practices that bring challenges to immigrant students, Yamamoto and Yabuta examined a wealth of research on "empowering schools" that bring human rights education and culturally responsive practices in Japan.

Professor Matthew A. Kraft and co-authors in this paper document a largely unrecognized pathway through which schools promote human capital development – by fostering informal mentoring relationships between students and their teachers, counselors, and coaches.

Professor Yoko Yamamoto has authored a chapter "Education, Cultural Capital, and Social Class Reproduction" published in Sustainability, Diversity, and Equality: Key Challenges for Japan. The chapter aims to present students’ educational opportunities and experiences related to family socioeconomic status (SES) in Japan.

A new article by Professor Andrea Flores explores how immigrant-origin Latinx youth in Nashville, Tennessee, who are active community volunteers, linked volunteering to moral personhood and their claims to national membership.

Professor Snyder, a valued teacher in Brown's Department of Education, has been promoted to Senior Lecturer.

Professor John Palella's undergraduate course examines what a high school U.S. history class could look, sound, and feel like when taught through the experiences of LGBTQIA people and communities.

Brown University's Department of Education is pleased to welcome Katie Rieser, who has joined the faculty as Director of the Master of Arts in Teaching program and a Senior Lecturer in Education. Katie's research connects teacher education pedagogy with anti-racist best practices in K-12 schools.

24 Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) graduate students presented their capstone projects in a roundtable format to faculty, fellow students, mentors, and local educators.

The presentation integrates all facets of the graduate learning experience and provides an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to apply the tools of education policy research by examining a contemporary policy issue.

This article by Professor Andrea Flores examines how time creates immigrant il/legality. It centers on a young, undocumented immigrant who was stopped by police following a traffic violation and held in custody pending potential deportation.

Professor Kelly will travel to Guatemala with educators and pre-service teachers to engage with local educators, youth, and families, and to exchange ideas and understanding of Guatemalan and U.S. educational systems and practices.

Abigail McClain is an educator and Teach for America RI Corps Member who enrolled in the Urban Education Policy program to gain a better understanding of the systems and policies that impact her students' educational experiences.

Since last year, there have been 1,400+ instances of book bans across 37 states. In his latest column for Kappan, Professor Jonathan Collins digs into the issue and presents a clear path forward.

Chronic absenteeism is a challenge for districts across the country. A research brief from the Annenberg Institutes's EdResearch for Action Overview Series, co-authored by Professor Lindsay Page, provides clear, evidence-based practices that districts and states can consider.

As a Biology major, Charlie Fisher intended to go into a health career. He learned early on that his passions were better suited to teaching, and Brown's intensive MAT program helped him to make the switch.

As districts spend record amounts on ed tech to mixed results, Professor Kenneth Wong and UEP alum Spencer Davis find that one school system’s strategy can serve as a promising case study.

In 2020, when the Central Falls School District received federal COVID-19 relief dollars, the superintendent earmarked $100,000 for community members to allocate using the same method of direct democracy. Professor Jonathan Collins led an evaluation of the district’s participatory budgeting process.

Aric Fulton, A.M.'22 was selected to participate in a highly selective, prestigious two-year training and leadership development program that is administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Professor Kraft and a team of researchers aim to examine the scope of “Grow Your Own” (GYO) programs and evaluate their potential to benefit students of color and low-income students.

The Sheridan Center's START program supports department efforts to advance inclusive diversity in their teaching, learning, and curriculum development.

For the first time in its 20-year history, the Rhode Island Principal of the Year award has been awarded to a school leader in Central Falls for 2023. Robert McCarthy MAT'89 received the honor from the Central Falls School District and Rhode Island Association of School Principals (RIASP) for his outstanding leadership and service to the school community as principal of Central Falls High School.