Niu Gao is a principal researcher at AIR specializing in K-12 education policy. Her current work focuses on COVID-19 and education, and she is leading multiple projects to examine the impact of the pandemic on K-12 education and identify effective strategies to help students recover—and recover equitably. Her other areas ...
Georgia has long believed that work-based learning is the best vehicle to teach students employability skills. Learn more about Georgia’s approach to work-based learning standards and how its structure plays a part in the success of their program.
Jessica Heppen, a nationally recognized expert in education research, policy, and practice, is the president & CEO of AIR. Dr. Heppen been with AIR for 20 years and, in that time, has held several key roles during her tenure.
PROMISE is focused on a comprehensive agenda aimed at building a more vibrant workforce for all individuals by adapting and testing evidence-based workforce practices in alternative settings for diverse populations. To accomplish these goals, PROMISE is focused on four key areas of work.
Education and training have long been considered routes to economic security. But millions of people can’t access postsecondary education or workforce training that would prepare them for high-demand, living-wage jobs. Elizabeth Zachry Rutschow, managing researcher and acting director of AIR’s PROMISE Center, shares how AIR experts are working to develop, ...
Robyn Madison is a senior technical assistance consultant in the Education Systems and Policy program at AIR. Her primary responsibilities include supporting many AIR project teams with advancing diversity-equity-inclusion and cultural and linguistic competence through their work with each other as colleagues and with our external constituency. Dr. Madison works ...
The need for safety, support, and trusting, reciprocal relationships is especially important as we work to rebuild and return stronger than before COVID-19. This resource describes the role that afterschool and summer programs and systems can play and offers strategies for afterschool and summer programs and school leaders to work ...
AIR, in partnership with Lumina Foundation, is conducting a study to better understand adult learners’ educational journeys and, importantly, what institutions can change to better support those adults in pursuing their degree—especially adult learners who identify as Black or African American, Latino or Latina, or Indigenous. The full report on ...
Studies find that positive approaches to school discipline at all ages can actually improve students' academic performance, and those students are less likely to become involved in the juvenile justice system or have need for behavioral services. These AIR resources support educators in their efforts to transform disciplinary practices in ...
Jaleh Soroui leads the AIR team that provides expertise, technical assistance, and management for the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Throughout her career, Jaleh has been at the forefront of incorporating education technology into adult education.