Barbara McKenna

Director of Media Relations

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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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  • Advancing Equity Through Deeper Learning
    Project

    Advancing Equity Through Deeper Learning

    This project brings together researchers, civil rights leaders, policymakers, and practitioners to advance understanding and develop policies that leverage deeper learning as a pathway toward educational equity. Through strategic research and shared-learning opportunities, LPI and partners are creating a broader community of actively engaged and knowledgeable equity advocates for deeper learning and building awareness about how high-leverage deeper learning practices can be scaled up. Strategic communications play a critical role in this effort, by promoting powerful examples and advancing a shared message and vision for deeper learning.
    Topics Deeper Learning, Equitable Resources​ and Access

Featured Resources

Educating the Whole Child: Improving School Climate to Support Student Success
Report

Educating the Whole Child: Improving School Climate to Support Student Success

Sep 07 2018
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Each year in the United States, 46 million children are exposed to violence, crime, abuse, homelessness, or food insecurity—experiences that can affect attention, learning, and behavior. This report looks at neuroscience, science of learning, and child development research on whole child approaches to education that improve learning for all students, especially those living with trauma.
Cover Art for report Making ESSA’s Equity Promise Real: State Strategies to Close the Opportunity Gap
Report

Making ESSA’s Equity Promise Real: State Strategies to Close the Opportunity Gap

Sep 05 2018
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Under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), in addition to the required indicators of schools performance, states can select indicators to measure schools’ efforts to support students and provide equitable opportunities or to identify places where additional investments need to be made to improve education and support underserved students. This report documents how states are taking advantage of this opportunity to address disparities, make schools more inclusive, and help all students succeed.
Taking the Long View: State Efforts to Solve Teacher Shortages by Strengthening the Profession
Report

Taking the Long View: State Efforts to Solve Teacher Shortages by Strengthening the Profession

Aug 29 2018
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Most states have been struggling to address teacher shortages for several years, often filling the vacuum with underprepared teachers. Governors and legislators in many of these states are now working to turn the tide. A new report from the Learning Policy Institute focuses on six evidence-based policies that states are pursuing to address their teacher shortages that can help states build long-term sustainable systems to attract, develop, and retain a strong and stable teacher workforce.