People

Browse By

Showing 31 - 40 of 49 people

Barbara McKenna

Director of Media Relations

Barbara McKenna is the Director of Media Relations. She oversees outreach relations for LPI, communicating LPI’s news to media and the public and serving as a resource for members of the press looking for research to inform education news of the day. Read more >
Hanna Melnick

Research Analyst and Policy Advisor

Hanna Melnick co-leads the Early Childhood Learning team. She is the lead author of Understanding California’s Early Care and Education System and Building an Early Learning System That Works: Next Steps for California. Read more >

Topics Early Childhood Learning, Deeper Learning, The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Naomi Ondrasek

Senior Researcher and Policy Advisor

Naomi Ondrasek serves as a Sacramento-based policy advisor and senior researcher for the Learning Policy Institute. She previously worked on the California Assembly Education Committee, where she served as a California Council on Science and Technology science fellow. Read more >
Raymond Quintela

Administrative Assistant

Raymond Quintela is an Administrative Assistant in the Finance and Operations department in LPI’s Palo Alto office. Read more >
Aaron Reeves

Graphic Designer

Aaron Reeves is the Graphic Designer. He also helps produce and edit LPI’s videos and supports the Institute’s online work. Read more >
Sara Robertson

Manager for Marketing and Outreach

Sara Robertson is a veteran communicator with nearly 20 years of experience in strategic communications and content marketing. As Manager for Marketing and Outreach, Robertson helps promote and gain traction for LPI’s research and policy proposals with a range of audiences. Read more >
Mandy Rodrigues

Web Manager

Mandy Rodrigues is a member of LPI’s Communication team and leads the web development and management work. Read more >
Ryan Saunders

Policy Advisor

Ryan Saunders is a Policy Advisor who works on the Policy and Educator Quality Teams. Read more >
Abby Schachner

Senior Researcher

Abby Schachner is a member of LPI’s Deeper Learning and Early Childhood Learning teams where she is working to translate research on children’s social, emotional and academic development and the contexts that support such development to inform policy and practice. Read more >

Topics Deeper Learning, Early Childhood Learning
Caitlin Scott

Research Director

Caitlin Scott provides research direction and support at LPI. For the past two decades, her publications have focused on educator learning and change, as well as improving educational systems at all levels, especially for students traditionally underserved by public schools. Read more >

Pages

teacher talking to a student in a classroom

Report

Preparing Teachers to Support Social and Emotional Learning

May 21 2019

Well-implemented programs designed to foster social and emotional learning (SEL) are associated with positive outcomes, ranging from better test scores and higher graduation rates to improved social behavior. This LPI study examines San Jose State University's successful teacher preparation program and a California school district's in-service program that incorporate SEL instruction in an effort to inform policymakers, practitioners, and teacher educators about the components of strong, SEL-focused teacher preparation and development systems.

Report

California’s Positive Outliers: Districts Beating the Odds

May 16 2019

LPI studied 156 California school districts of significant size in which students of color, as well as White students, consistently achieve at higher levels than students from similar racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. What are these "positive outliers" doing to raise achievement and support students of all backgrounds?

teacher talking to student in a school hallway

Report

Protecting Students' Civil Rights: The Federal Role in School Discipline

May 01 2019

In 2018, the Trump administration rescinded voluntary federal guidance intended to help states end exclusionary and discriminatory school discipline practices. Many states had implemented policies based on evidence-based approaches outlined in the guidance and have seen lower rates of suspensions and expulsions among all students, including students of color, and other benefits. Loss of that guidance removes an important set of resources available to states and districts to end harmful practices.

Pages

Featured Resources