Elizabeth Spier is a principal researcher at AIR. She has over 20 years of experience designing and managing large-scale, policy-relevant studies examining the effectiveness of programs, and interventions designed to improve developmental and educational outcomes for children. Her expertise includes child development, safe and supportive learning environments, child and family ...
2021 has been a year of celebration, growth and commitment for AIR. We invite you to learn more about our mission-focused work by scrolling through this “year-in-review” report and by exploring our website. We look forward to the opportunities that lay ahead to make a difference in 2022, and beyond.
This spotlight takes a look at the history of Title I, how the program has changed over time, and how it affects children, schools, families and education policy. Experts weigh in on the program's past and future in interviews, briefs, and blogs.
Manolya Tanyu is a community psychologist and prevention researcher with 15 years of expertise in evaluation of school- and community-based interventions to prevent risk behaviors and promote youth development and well-being. A core aspect of her work is understanding the interrelationships across the settings (i.e., human serving systems, communities, schools, ...
Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, CMS awarded 20 states planning grants to increase their capacity to provide community-based mobile crisis intervention services for Medicaid individuals. Building on work that started as part of the ARP National Evaluation, AIR summarized awardee state use of planning grants through a ...
Critical gaps currently exist in the availability of high-quality preschool, particularly in low-income areas of Sonoma County, California. Building on the county's interest in universal preschool, and the body of work already conducted in the county supporting it, this report provides a plan to expand access to preschool and to ...
There is no conclusive evidence that one instructional model for educating English learners, such as full English immersion or a bilingual approach, is more effective for California’s English learners than another, according to a five-year study of Proposition 227. The study, by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) in conjunction ...
On Dec. 3, 2013, policymakers and representatives from national education organizations gathered on Capitol Hill for a presentation by AIR researchers on how to create safe and supportive learning environments for children inside and outside of the classroom.
AIR evaluations of two federally funded initiatives aimed at revamping chronically low-performing schools in Massachusetts found that students in both programs improved their scores in state tests of English language arts and mathematics. While both programs resulted in widespread improvement, AIR’s evaluations found particularly strong increases in achievement among students ...