Ria Mehta graduated with an M.A. degree in Education Policy (in Law and Education specialization) from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2015. She now works in the position of the Director, Strategic Partnerships at the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality (TRQ) in the New York City Department of Education.
Having taught in Memphis, TN, and graduated from The University of Georgia, Ria has southern roots, but a heart for the Big Apple.
We asked Ria to tell us about her path to Teachers College and also how the master’s degree in education policy helps in her professional life now. Here is what she told us.
What did you do before applying to the education policy program at TC?
I was a 6th and 7th grade English Language Arts and Social Studies teacher in Memphis, Tennessee. Concurrently, I served as the data manager for Teach for America where I created and managed the data collection and analysis for incoming teachers.
Did you apply to similar programs at other colleges and if yes, what made you choose TC?
Yes, I did- only two others. Teachers College was the best option of the three and the most reputable with the research and field experience with professors. I also had a special interest in law and to have professors that have extensive experience in education law intrigued me.
Did you work during your program of studies at TC? If yes, where and in what positions and organizations? What was the most important factor for you to look for a job—experience, financial reason, other?
I intentionally did not have a part-time position because I wanted to do deep work in absorbing all of the learnings in my classes at TC. It was one of the best decisions I made because I still use everything I learned in my classes in my job now- especially all of the readings on what policy has and has not worked in education.
What do you do now?
I am the Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality (TRQ) in the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE). I concurrently serve as the Project Director for a five-year $34 million federal Teacher and School Leader Grant that I co-authored in order to build, retain, and sustain the teaching pipeline in all Bronx schools. In these capacities, I lead 13 district-level partnerships in aligning and implementing talent acquisition and retention initiatives through NYC DOE’s most evidence-based activities such as, clinical preparation of teachers, pre-budget hiring, formal teacher leadership teams, and principal talent development. I manage a team that strategically partners and continuously improves the combination of these initiatives with superintendent teams and program teams in order to ultimately eliminate the teacher vacancy and retention gap in the Bronx; and, for the long-term, build the framework to do so for the city’s most underserved districts.
Was the program of any help in finding this job?
I began my role in this office as a program manager four years ago. I learned of that initial position from a peer at EPSA. It was not only having the peer connection, but my expertise that I developed from the program and my professional experiences before EPSA that made me a viable candidate.
Is this job something that you had envisioned yourself ending at when applying to EPOL?
No- it wasn’t. When I first began EPSA I had a narrow understanding of what creates true change in education. As I learned through EPSA, and especially now, it takes systemic shifts in order to create an education system that meets the needs of all learners. Knowing this, I wanted to get more implementation experience and decided to do so.
How instrumental is your degree in education policy in your work now?
It was a necessary foundation for me to grow in my career and find my niche. At this current state, a Masters is certainly necessary to understand the fundamentals of how our education system has evolved and what works in certain climates; ultimately, you have to learn this before trying to change the system or else you’ll be part of the system that is trying and implementing the same things that have failed our students over and over again.
What would you recommend that our program adds/changes/updates in its curriculum that would have a useful impact on our students’ future careers?
I’ve led two teams in my time here, and as such, I’ve hired a lot of EPSA students and interviewed many candidates. What’s necessary for more applicable learning is not just understanding the research climate- but understanding how policy implementation works. As students are learning about policy, advocacy, and how to create justifications for change- how do they understand how to create change and be a productive professional in organizations?
EPSA could benefit from having more exercises that help students understand stakeholder needs. When they move into the professional sphere- how can they absorb diverse sets of information, and decipher, simplify, and collaboratively provide solutions to what they hear stakeholders say? Quite often students are empowered after getting their degrees and want to change the system that they get hired in. Yet, it’s very important to learn the work, the people, and the needs first.
Second, how are students prepared with foundational technical skills that are necessary in these environments? Every time I interview, I ask candidates, no matter the position, to do the same exercise. The exercise asks them to extend their technical data analysis skills and analyze a data set (basic excel functions- pivots, vlookup, indexmatch, data coding, etc.), and then produce a one-page memo that describes and illustrates the data, point out a key problem, and provide one key recommendation to get to the goal. If candidates don’t know how to do the technical, they can never get to the memo. And when candidates do know the technical, the memo is often unclear, and the implementation aspect is a gap. I then provide feedback for revisions and ask them to send a revised memo. This is the key part of the exercise--- how are candidates listening and applying my feedback? If they can listen and apply the feedback, that means they are a learner, can work well with me, and have the opportunity to grow in the position.
Now that you are an employer what are the most important skills that you are looking for in the applicants?
An addition to the above values (growth mindset, core technical skills, and communicates effectively) would be that I seek to understand candidate’s prior experiences where they’ve taken initiative without someone asking, and were also successful in that initiative-taking experience. Employer’s want self-drivers, and often times self-drivers are those who seek to understand the environment and stakeholder’s needs, and are disciplined and collaborative in driving the solutions all the way through the end of the process.
Do you think it is a wise move to gain professional experience while still at school and why?
If students did not have a diversity of professional experience prior to EPSA, then yes, it is. I was not only a teacher, I was a data analysis manager for a regional group of teachers.
What was the most important learning experience you had at TC?
I learned how to write clearly and with justification at TC. Professors at TC take the time to review your work and that in itself I was truly thankful to have them take the time and critically provide me detailed feedback.
Do you have any advice for our current students with relation to their future career?
Absorb everything you can from your professors and always seek a mentor in every path of life. Ask them what made them successful and how you can grow. Second, every experience in life is how you choose to make it, so make it to be the best.
Do you still follow the news from the program/department?
Sometimes I do via email, though I want to be involved more consistently.
What was your overall experience in the program?
It was one of the best learning investments I’ve made on myself.
I hear you might be interested in continuing your studies in a doctoral program; if it is ok, can you tell me more?
I am very interested in pursuing a doctorate and TC is my top choice. I would like to pursue Education Leadership doctorate.
You can watch our 2018 EPSA Alumni Career Talk, where Ria and five other EPSA alumni spoke to department’s current students about how to choose a career path.