Topic: Improvement Science

This report details the lessons learned through the Research-Practice Partnership between NYKids, Tech Valley High School (TVHS), Chatham Central School District (CSD), and the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The report, co-written by members of the collaborative, reflects on positive outcomes from the RPP, challenges team members faced, and future goals for improvement.

In this presentation entitled “Backbone Organizations for Improvement Research and Continuous Improvement Utilization: Opportunities and Challenges from New York State” NYKids Director and Associate Professor of Educational Policy and Leadership, Kristen C. Wilcox details the continuous improvement efforts made by NYKids and our partners across New York State.

This presentation, entitled “Advancing Educational Equity Research, Policy, and Practice,” was delivered by NYKids Director Kristen C. Wilcox and longtime collaborator Hal A. Lawson at the Educational Leaders without Borders conference held in Athens, Greece in April, 2023. The presentation discusses the importance of equity-focused research and recounts over two decades of NYKids scholarship.

NYKids team members Kristen C. Wilcox, Maria I. Khan, and Jessie Tobin presented this poster at the 2023 Carnegie Summit held in San Diego. The poster, titled “Addressing Differential Impacts of COVID via a National Research-Practice Partnership Network” outlines research improvement work NYKids has connected as part of a collaboration with Tech Valley High School, Chatham City School District, and American Institutes for Research.

NYKids team members Kristen C. Wilcox and Maria I. Khan presented findings from an ongoing research study at the Comparative and International Education Society. The presentation, entitled “Improving Educational Equity through Research-Practice Partnerships & University-School Collaborations in the Post-Pandemic Era,” explores the research-practice partnership between NYKids, Chatham Central School District, and Tech Valley High School. This work is also being conducted with the support of the American Institutes for Research.

This Engaged Researchers Meeting discussed findings from an ongoing study conducted by researchers in the School of Public Health, Public Administration and Policy, and the School of Education. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of remote schooling on the occurrence of adverse childhood events among children in New York State. Researchers also seek to uncover the experiences of caregivers and educators during the pandemic and develop community-informed recommendations to develop trauma informed interventions in schools.

The NYKids paper entitled “A Rural Research-Practice Partnership’s Adaptations during the COVID-19 Pandemic” was delivered as part of the American Educational Research Association’s annual conference in 2022. It outlines how improvement science principles were used to support Fort Plain Jr.Sr. High School’s planning and improvement efforts as they tackled pandemic-related disruptions

This slide deck is taken from a presentation at the 2022 Carnegie Summit by Dr. Kristen C. Wilcox and Dr. Tammy Ellis-Robinson. The presentation entitled, “Decolonizing Pedagogy: Engaging in Disciplined Inquiry in Higher Education” explores efforts of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Task Force at UAlbany’s School of Education.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching hosts a summit every year that convenes representative from grant funding organizations, policymakers, researchers and professional practitioners among others in efforts to “learn to get better at getting better”. This year NYKids in partnership with Fort Plain Junior Senior High School, share how we have worked to translate research into practical improvements for navigating the pandemic. Carnegie’s virtual summit provides participants opportunities to learn about improvement science from Carnegie staff as well as learn from other improvers about how they have pursued their improvement work in all levels of education and from the U.S. and around the world. In this week’s blog we share some key highlights from NYKids’ Carnegie Summit presentation available on-demand from April 23rd-April 28th for those who might still have time to participate. This presentation may be of particular interest to those interested in improvement science. This blog offers links to our powerpoint and upcoming workshops and intensive direct support opportunities NYKids will be offering in the coming weeks to assist school and district leaders and their improvement teams navigate their fall reopening planning.

Dr. Kristen C. Wilcox delivered this presentation at this year’s New York State School Boards Association annual conference. The topic is on how Rural Research-Practice Partnerships can assist educators in improving school outcomes.

Workshop participants learned how they can model the work of Improvement Science (IS) and engage others in using IS strategies and tools for continuous improvement.