education policy

State & Hill

Melvin Gaines: Public servants advancing the public good

Apr 24, 2024

.fullWidthBox1 { width: 100%; background-color: #75988D; padding: 20px 20px 20px 40px; } .fullWidthBox2 { width: 100%; background-color: #FFF; padding: 0px 20px 0px 40px; font-size: 35px !important; } Advancing the public good:...

State & Hill

John English: Public servants advancing the public good

Apr 24, 2024

John English and his family at the beach

State & Hill

Faculty Findings, spring 2024

Apr 24, 2024

Innovation that benefits societyInclusive innovation—the idea of introducing technologies designed for and by the poor to boost economic growth in impoverished communities—often misses the real problems facing these communities and champions...

Colorful illustration of many different women

State & Hill

Faculty news, spring 2024

Apr 24, 2024

Kamissa Camara chaired the Bipartisan Senior Study Group for the Sahel at the U.S. Institute of Peace. The study group’s comprehensive report critically assesses opportunities for peace, security, and economic development in the Sahel.Charlotte...

(Top row, left to right) Fullerton Rico, Hills, Holz, Jacob, and Leiser (Bottom row, left to right) Morenoff, Raimi, Shipan, Spencer, and Stevenson

News

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

Javi Piñeiro (MPP/JD’24) participates in Next Milan Forum

Apr 16, 2024

I don't think if you had told me when I was a teenager growing up in a very rural small town in Puerto Rico that one day, still being young and a student, I would be in a position to go to a conference abroad and meet with people from all over the...

Javi Pinero standing with his conference badge at the NEXT Milan Forum in Italy organized by ISPI, Università Bocconi, and the OECD

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

Transformative upgrades to Michigan's longitudinal data system

Apr 11, 2024

A new $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will improve Michigan’s statewide longitudinal data system, the go-to source for critical education data going to researchers and other stakeholders in Michigan and nationwide. The grant...

Illustration of a bubble test sheet with bubbles filled in and lines connecting them like a circuitboard

News

DC career trip returns to advance connections between students and alumni

Feb 29, 2024

The DC career exploration trip, a Ford School tradition organized by Career Services, was held this year on February 8th and 9th in person for the first time since 2020. The experience allows graduate and undergraduate students to learn about policy...

Ford School students, alumni, and friends network in DC

Publication

Lessons learned: Urban charter schools demonstrate potential to improve student performance

Feb 22, 2024

While the merits of charter schools vs. traditional public schools are well-documented, some charter schools in urban areas can dramatically improve student achievement, especially among disadvantaged students, says a University of Michigan...

News

School enrollment during COVID-19: U-M study reveals racial disparities

Feb 21, 2024

Student enrollment in districts that provided in-person schooling in fall 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic showed a greater decline among nonwhite students than white students.But in districts that offered virtual learning, the opposite was true,...

Brian Jacob, the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy at the Ford School.

News

Jacob and Stange: Getting free college right

Feb 9, 2024

Governor Gretchen Whitmer proposed making the first two years of community college free in Michigan in her 2024 State of the State AddressIn an opinion published in Bridge Michigan, Brian Jacob and Kevin Strange applaud Governor Whitmer for her...

Headshots of Brian Jacob and Kevin Stange

News

EPI conference looks at the dynamics of higher education and labor markets

Jan 31, 2024

“Achieving the alignment of what’s needed and what students are learning has profound implications for our shared economic prosperity. The United States is undergoing a massive workforce restructuring. While college affordability is really...

News

Data mining at USED: Updating old systems to inform new policy

Jan 30, 2024

Kevin Stange approached PhD student Nathan Sotherland in the summer of 2022 with an offer to join him in a unique assignment in the U.S. Department of Education (USED). As a part of the first cohort of economists to join the Office of Under...

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...

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...

Red, white, and blue balloons and stars with a large white checkmark

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,...

Headshots of Brian Jacob and Christina Weiland

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...

News

YPL supports New York City public school expanded early math program

Nov 7, 2023

The Youth Policy Lab (YPL) is partnering with the Bank Street Education Center in New York City as part of a major investment in “Next Generation Community Schools (NGCS).” New York City School Chancellor David C. Banks announced that 20...

News

STPP influence in New York report about facial recognition technology in schools

Oct 30, 2023

The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) has outlined the ethical issues with the state’s use of facial recognition technology (FRT) in schools. The report titled “Use of Biometric Identifying Technology in Schools” found...

News

Michigan Governor Whitmer cites her time at the Ford School

Oct 10, 2023

In an editorial for Education Week, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer urges teachers to move to Michigan, promoting what she calls, "a state with a positive vision for public education." She begins the article citing her time and mission when she...

In the Media

A flamethrower and comments about book burning ignite a political firestorm in Missouri

Sep 22, 2023 The Associated Press

...

News

Dr. Stange Goes to Washington

Sep 13, 2023

The Ford School is proud of its record of welcoming policymakers-in-residence. This past year, Ford School professor Kevin Stange played a different role – academic-in-residence. He had a one-year assignment working in the U.S. Department of...

News

Inaugural ASPIRE cohort enjoys rewarding summer research experience with the Youth Policy Lab

Aug 24, 2023

Summer 2023 proved to be eventful and rewarding for the inaugural Applied Social Policy Internship and Research Experience (ASPIRE) cohort. The program, a collaboration between the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Spelman College, provided...

News

Ford School welcomes new faculty that bridge research and policy engagement

Aug 21, 2023

A former foreign minister to Mali, a leading educational economist, a tech entrepreneur who explores indigenous technoscience are among the outstanding new faculty that add depth to the Ford School and connect student education, rigorous academic...

News

Addressing housing instability important as the school year begins - Erb-Downward

Aug 18, 2023

Back to school brings several challenges, from student learning, expectations of academic success and mental health concerns among children to questioning technology replacing educators and AI and the ongoing shortage of teachers, school staff and...

Photo of a teacher and three young elementary school students around a classroom table

News

Chronic housing instability poses educational risk for Detroit students

Aug 16, 2023

As Detroit children prepare to return to school, widespread and chronic housing instability among city residents poses a threat to students’ ability to perform well academically. New research from the University of Michigan’s Poverty...

News

Ford School welcomes Sarah Cohodes as associate professor

Aug 16, 2023

Leading education policy economist Sarah Cohodes joins the Ford School as an associate professor with tenure. Cohodes uses quantitative causal inference methods to evaluate educational policies and programs. Her research focuses on school choice,...