Departments and Research Centers

Education Policy Initiative

Showing 1 - 30 of 600 results

Staff

Sophia Dara

Research Assistant

Sophia Dara is an undergraduate senior pursuing a BA in Public Policy at UM. She also has minors in Education for Empowerment: Advancing Equity through Education Policy and Spanish. Her areas of interest include early childhood and K-12 education,…

Staff

Molly Kraine

Student Graphic Designer

[email protected]

Molly Kraine is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan pursuing degrees in UX Design and Digital Art. At the Education Policy Initiative, Molly assists with updating the website and designing promotional materials. She is interested…

Staff

Lauren O'Hair

Research Assistant

[email protected]

Lauren O'Hair is a research assistant at the Education Policy Initiative. She is a first-year MPP student with an interest in education policy due to her seven years as an elementary teacher in both public and charter schools across the country. This…

Affiliates

Deborah Rivas-Drake

Professor, School of Education; Professor Psychology, College of Literature, Science and the Arts

Deborah Rivas-Drake, is a Professor of Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan. Together with the Contexts of Academic + Socioemotional Adjustment (CASA) Lab, she examines how school, peer, family, and community settings can support…

Staff

Stacey Rzeszut

Administrative Coordinator

[email protected]

734-615-6330

Stacey Rzeszut is the administrative coordinator for EPI and provides fiscal, operational and administrative support to the EPI team and predoctoral candidates. Outside of work, Stacey enjoys traveling with her…

Staff

Anne Taylor

Senior Data Analyst, Education Policy Initiative

[email protected]

Annie Taylor is a senior data analyst with the Education Policy Initiative. Her work at EPI focuses on early childhood projects, including designing and implementing research agendas for universal preschool programs in the Boston area. She joined EPI…

Staff

Qia Yang

Data Programmer

[email protected]

Qia Yang is the data programmer at the Education Policy Initiative. His primary work is to maintain the Michigan Education Data Center, import data from the State of Michigan and export data to MERI researchers. He also optimizes the code in MEDC to…

News

OVPR awards 3 Ford School staff members for research, leadership

Apr 26, 2024

The Office of the Vice President for Research will recognize three of the Ford School's research center staff—Jasmina Camo-Biogradlija (Education Policy Initiative), Molly Kleinman (Science, Technology and Public Policy program), and Kyle S. Kwaiser...

OVPR awards 3 Ford School staff members for research, leadership

State & Hill

Katherine Michelmore and Natasha Pilkauskas on policy rooted in evidence and facts

Apr 24, 2024

.fullWidthBox1 { width: 100%; background-color: #682B8D; padding: 20px 20px 20px 40px; } .fullWidthBox2 { width: 100%; background-color: #FFF; padding: 0px 20px 0px 40px; font-size: 35px !important; } Advancing the public good: Steady and...

Katherine Michelmore and Natasha Pilkauskas on policy rooted in evidence and facts

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...

U-M researchers partner with District of Columbia Public Schools for Pre-K curriculum implementation study

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...

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...

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.

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...

Transformative upgrades to Michigan's longitudinal data system

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...

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...

Ford School welcomes Sarah Cohodes as associate professor

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,...

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

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...

Jacob and Stange: Getting free college right

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...

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

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...

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

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...

Hamp contributes her unique perspective on Pre-K for All

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, faculty...

Jacob and Weiland make the 2024 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings

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...

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

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...

Weiland addresses Michigan's $107M preschool education investment

State & Hill

Spotlights, fall 2023

Dec 10, 2023

What’s on the barbie? Economists Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson were on the guest list as the White House hosted a State Dinner for Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October. Skills match More than fifty...

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 system. A...

U-M education researchers present evidence-based findings and analysis to inform Michigan’s Pre-K-for-All goals

News

CIERS seminar leads to on-the-ground financial aid research

Oct 2, 2023

“We have great data in Iowa, and we are always interested in working with graduate students to probe it and see what we can learn.” That was an invitation from Meghan Oster (PhD ‘21), who was already working at Iowa College Aid, the state’s...

CIERS seminar leads to on-the-ground financial aid research

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

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,...

News

Seattle Times endorses Weiland pre-K for all plan in Washington state

Aug 12, 2023

Calling for early education for all, the Seattle Times Editorial Board has endorsed a plan by Christina Weiland, Education Policy Initiative faculty co-director, and her colleagues for universal pre-k in Washington state. Weiland’s 2021 policy...

Seattle Times endorses Weiland pre-K for all plan in Washington state

News

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life

Aug 2, 2023

What are the dynamics of inequity in labor markets? How do we determine appropriate categories for people in a multicultural society? How is the U.S. approach to ethnicity and nationality different from what they are doing in Europe? These were...