If states are to foster an environment in which all students have opportunities to thrive in computer science (CS), policy action will help create the conditions for success. Interviews with 20 individuals involved in the CS education policy process help to illuminate several factors that have facilitated California’s recent policy ...
Cheryl Harris is a senior technical assistance consultant at AIR. Her current work involves providing technical assistance for the Texas (TXCC) and Southeast (SECC) Comprehensive Centers, addressing state and local capacity building in school improvement and key content areas. This work includes assisting states and their statewide systems of support ...
The initiatives to enhance adult learning program accountability and assessment systems of the following states are described in this paper: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Oregon, Texas, Washington, West Virginia.
Kellie Anderson (she/her) is a senior technical project manager at AIR. Her roles include project director, instructional designer, quality assurance reviewer, subject matter expert, and communications specialist for adult distance learning projects. Anderson also serves on the leadership teams for the Learning Technologies Team and the Communicators Community of Practice ...
Ryan Torbey is a researcher at AIR serving in the Educators and Instruction program area. He is an advocate for expanding computer science education in K-12 schools and believes that every student should learn the foundations of computer programming. At AIR, Dr. Torbey contributes to Wyoming Computer Science Micro-Credential Courses ...
Kwelin Waller is senior program manager with the AIR Equity Initiative. Waller works to combine research and technical assistance with real-world applications, leading the Equity Initiative's work in the interconnected areas of workforce development, community health and well-being. Additionally, she leads the AIR Scholars and Leaders Award grant competition, an initiative that ...
Neil Naftzger is a managing director working on community school, afterschool, and youth development initiatives at AIR. An experienced evaluator and researcher, Dr. Naftzger has spent two decades designing and conducting evaluations and research studies in the community school, afterschool, and youth development arenas that involve the collection and analysis ...
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 ...
Despite recent increases, the number of underrepresented minorities pursuing Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics continues to lag behind the overall population. In this video interview, Rachel Upton examines the role that historically black colleges and universities play in increasing STEM participation specifically among black students. ...
STEM degree production in the U.S. is not keeping pace with the demand for STEM talent. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities are underrepresented in the STEM disciplines—the largest untapped STEM talent pools in the United States.