Barbara McKenna

Director of Media Relations

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202.798.5595

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. McKenna started her career as a reporter at the Washington Post and segued into public relations after stints as a writer and editor at several California weekly and daily papers. Previously, she was Director of Public Outreach at the Regional Educational Laboratory West at WestEd; Director of Communications at the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education; and Head of Communications at the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence.

McKenna is a member of the Community Advisory Board for the Education Writers Association. She earned her B.A. in English from Oberlin College.

For more about Barbara McKenna's work, see list below.

Barbara McKenna
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Featured Resources

teacher talking to a student in a classroom
Report

Preparing Teachers to Support Social and Emotional Learning

May 21 2019
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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. 
Cover photo for California’s Positive Outliers: Districts Beating the Odds
Report

California’s Positive Outliers: Districts Beating the Odds

May 16 2019
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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
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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.