Since 2000

Spencer Foundation, $49,087 to study “Outside Money in Local School Elections.” With Co-PI Sarah Reckhow and Rebecca Jacobsen, Michigan State)

Wallace Foundation, $1,009,000 to study whether and how major community institutions in three mid-sized cities can work together to tackle social and educational challenges in their local communities. Co-.PI (with Carolyn Riehl). 2014-2019.

Ford Foundation, Spencer Foundation, W.T. Grant Foundation, $70,000. To support“Are We Learning from K-12 Philanthropic Investments?” A project involving two conferences co-hosted by the EPSA Department of Teachers College and the American Enterprise Institute.

Spencer Foundation, $27,000 for a contract to support research and writing on “The End of Educational Exceptionalism in The United States,” 2010-2012.

Spencer Foundation, $71,600 for set of two conferences and edited volume related to “Contracting Regimes and Urban School Reform: Toward a New Understanding if Diverse Provider Models and the Exercise of Democratic Authority in a More Privatized Educational System,” co-principal investigator with Katrina Bulkley and Henry Levin.

Spencer Foundation, $40,000; Russell Sage Foundation, $30,000; The Century Foundation $30,000 for “Politics, Ideology, and Evidence: The New York Times/AFT Charter School Controversy and Its Implications for Democracy, Societal Learning, and the Application of Educational Research to Education Practice” (2005/2006).

Spencer Foundation, $390,000 for a study of politics, markets, and charter schools in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia, co-principal investigator Michele Moser (July 1, 2001-December 31, 2002) (with Michele Moser).

Spencer Foundation, $34,900 for a study of DC charter schools, co-principal investigator Michele Moser (July 1, 2000-June 30, 2001) (with Michele Moser).

BOOKS

Outside Money in School Board Elections: The Nationalization of Education Politics, co-authored with Rebecca Jacobsen and Sarah Reckhow. Harvard Education Press, 2019.

The New Education Philanthropy: Politics, Policy, and Reform. Co-edited with Frederick M. Hess. Harvard Education Press, December 2015.

The End of Exceptionalism in American Education: The changing politics of school reform. Harvard Education Press, 2013.

Between Public and Private: Politics, Governance, and the New Portfolio Models for Urban School Reform, co-edited with Katrina E. Bulkley and Henry M. Levin, Harvard Education Press, October 2010. Winner of the Districts in Research and Reform SIG Best Book Award, 2012.

Spin Cycle: How Research Is Used in Policy Debates, The Case of Charter Schools. Russell Sage Foundation/The Century Foundation, 2008. Winner of the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Outstanding Book Award, 2010.

Mayors in the Middle: Politics, Race and Mayoral Control of Urban Schools, co-edited with Wilbur C. Rich, Princeton University Press, 2004.

Building Civic Capacity: The Politics of Reforming Urban Schools, co-authored with Clarence N. Stone, Bryan D. Jones, and Carol Pierannunzi. University Press of Kansas, 2001. Named best book published in the field of urban politics in 2001 by the Urban Politics section of the American Political Science Association.

The Color of School Reform: Race, Politics, and the Challenge of Urban Education, co-authored with Richard Hula, Marion Orr, and Desiree Pedescleaux, Princeton University Press, 1999. Named best book published in the field of urban politics in 1999 by the Urban Politics section of the American Political Science Association.

Shrinking the State: The Political Underpinnings of Privatization, co-authored with Harvey Feigenbaum and Chris Hamnett, Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Rethinking School Choice: Limits of the Market Metaphor, Princeton Univ. Press, 1994. Paperback edition with new "Afterword" released in 1995.

Public Policy and Federalism: Issues in State and Local Politics, St. Martin's Press, 1985.

Neighborhood Mobilization: Redevelopment and Response, Rutgers University Press, 1982.

Gentrification in Adams Morgan: Political and Commercial Consequences of Neighborhood Change, GW Washington Studies, no. 9, Center for Washington Area Studies, George Washington University, 1982.

RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES

“Prospects for Grassroots Influence: Can we be realistic without being fatalistic?” Urban Affairs Review (2019), originally published online July 16, 2019.

”Blurring Lines? How Locally-based Collaborations Handle the Redistribution/Development Tradeoff.” Co-authored with Melissa Arnold Lyon. Urban Affairs Review (2017), 1-25.

“Outsiders with Deep Pockets”: The Nationalization of Local School Board Elections.” Co-authored with Sarah Reckhow, Rebecca Jacobsen, and Jamie Alter Litt (2016). 53:3: Urban Affairs Review, 1-27.

“Local Politics and Portfolio Management Models: National Reform Ideas and Local Control.” Co-authored with Katrina E. Bulkley. Peabody Journal of Education (2015) 90 (1): 53-83.

“The Politics of Testing When Measures ‘Go Public’” Teachers College Record, special section on Validity: When Education Measures Go Public –Stakeholder Conversations on How and Why Validity Breaks Down, edited by Madhabi Chatterji, (September 2013): v. 115 (9), 11 pages.

“The Politics of Data Use,” Teachers College Record, special issue on data use edited by Andrea Bueschel and Cynthia Coburn, (November 2012): v. 114 (11).

“Shopping in the Political Arena: Strategic State and Local Venue Selection by Advocates,” co-authored with Thomas P. Holyoke and Heath Brown, State and Local Government Review (2012) 44(1) 9-20

RECENT CHAPTERS IN EDITED VOLUMES 

“Charter School Governance and Politics.” Co-authored with Katrina E. Bulkley, in Handbook of Research on School Choice, 2nd, edited by Mark Berends, Ann Primus, & Mathew G. Springer. Routledge, 2019.

“Charter Schools in a Changing Political Landscape.” In Choosing Charters: Better Schools or More Segregation?, ed. Iris C. Rotberg and Joshua L. Glazer. NY: Teachers College Press, 2018: 6-23.

“All Together Now: The Apparent Resurgence of Locally Based Cross-Sector Collaboration.” Co-authored with Carolyn J. Riehl. In Shaping Education Policy: Power and Process, 2nd ed., ed. Robert L. Crowson, Douglas E. Mitchell, and Dorothy Shipps. New York: Routledge, 2018: 269-287.

“From NCLB to ESSA: Lessons Learned or Politics Reaffirmed?” Co-authored with David Houston and Melissa Arnold Lyon. In The Every Student Succeeds Act, edited by Frederick Hess & Max Eden. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2017.

“A Political Scientist looks at the American school choice movement” in School Choice: A Handbook for Researchers, Practitioners, Policy-Makers and Journalists, edited by Robert Fox and Nina Buchanan. NY: Wiley, 2017.

“Governance as a Source of Sector Convergence in a Changing Sociopolitical Landscape,” co-authored with Kevin Dougherty, in Christopher P. Loss and Patrick McGuinn, eds. Convergence: U.S. Education Policy Fifty Years after the ESEA and the HEA of 1965 Harvard Education Press (2016): 21-41.

“Introduction: The New Education Philanthropy.” Co-authored with Frederick M. Hess, in Hess and Henig (eds.) The New Education Philanthropy: Politics, Policy, and Reform. Harvard Education Press (December 2015): 1-10.

“Conclusion: Philanthropies On a Shifting Landscape of Policy and Practice.” Co-authored with Frederick M. Hess, in Hess and Henig (eds.) The New Education Philanthropy: Politics, Policy, and Reform. Harvard Education Press (December 2015): 181-192.

“Calling the Shots in Public Education: Parents, Politicians, and Educators Clash.” Co-authored with Eva Gold and Elaine Simon. In Public Education Under Siege, edited by Michael B. Katz and Mike Rose. Philadelphia PA: University of Pennsylvania Press (2013).

“The Rise of Education Executives in the White House, State House, and Mayor’s Office,” in Paul Manna and Patrick McGuinn, eds., Education Governance for the Twenty-First Century: Overcoming the Structural Barriers to School Reform. Washington DC: Brookings (2012): 178-205.

“Addressing the Disadvantages of Poverty: Why ignore the most important challenge of the post-standards era?” Co-authored with Helen Janc Malone, Paul Reville. In Jal Mehta, Robert Schwartz, and Frederick M. Hess eds., The Future(s) of School Reform. Cambridge MA: Harvard Education Press (2012): 119-149.

ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT

Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2002-present

Professor, George Washington University, Department of Political Science, 1991-2002.

Associate Professor, George Washington University, Department of Political Science, 1984-1991.

Assistant Professor, George Washington University, Department of Political Science, 1977-1984.

PROFESSIONAL PAPERS  (SINCE 2000)

“Beyond-School Improvement. Brick-by-Brick: What Does Building Cross-Sector Collaborations Really Entail?” Co-authored with Carolyn Riehl. Presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Toronto. April 8, 2019.

• “Redesign by Whom? Cross-Level Coalitions and the Nationalization of Local School Politics,” with Sarah Reckhow & Rebecca Jacobsen. Presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York City April 13, 2018.
• “Tracing the Flow of Outside Money into Local School Board Elections,”
  with Sarah Reckhow & Rebecca Jacobsen. Presented at 2018 Anton/Lippitt Conference: Citizenship and the City, Watson Institute, Brown University. January 26, 2018.
• “The Role of Governance in K–12/Higher Education Convergence,” co-authored with Kevin Dougherty. Presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Washington DC, April 10, 2016.
• “’Collective Impact’ Initiatives in Education: Cross-sector, place-based collaborative efforts to improve educational outcomes,” co-authored with David M. Houston and
  Constance Margarete Clark. Presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association in San Francisco, California.
• “Outsiders with Deep Pockets: the Nationalization of Local School Board Elections,” co-authored with Sarah Reckhow, Rebecca Jacobsen, and Jamie Alter. Presented at the Annual Meetings of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April 16, 2015.
• “Race, Place, and Authenticity: The Politics of Charter Schools in Harlem.” Co-authored with Basil Smikle. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington DC August 28-31, 2014.
• "The End of Educational Exceptionalism: The Rise of the Education Executives in the White House, State House, and Mayor's Office" paper presented at
  Rethinking Education Governance in the Twenty-First Century Conference, sponsored by Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the Center for American Progress (December 1, 2011). Available at <http://www.edexcellence.net/events/rethinking-education-governance-conference.html>
• “Parent and Community Engagement in New York City and the Sustainability Challenge for Urban Education Reform.” Co-authored with Eva Gold, Marion Orr, Megan Silander, Elaine Simon. Presented at the American Educational Research Association Meetings, New Orleans, April 2011.
• “Parent and Community Engagement in New York City and the Sustainability Challenge for Urban Education Reform.” Co-authored with Eva Gold, Marion Orr, Megan Silander, Elaine Simon. Presented at “New York City Reform Retrospective: The Children’s First Initiative, 2002-2010.”
• “The Evolving Relationship between Researchers and Public Policy.” Prepared for the American Enterprise Institute Conference, “The Politics of Knowledge: Why Research Does (or Does Not) Influence Education Policy,” May 21, 2007
• “The Political Economy of Supplemental Education Services.” Presented at
  AEI Conference on “Fixing Failing Schools: Is the NCLB Toolkit Working? Washington, D.C. November 30, 2006.
• “Education Policy and the Politics of Privatization since 1980.” Presented at 2006 Annual Meeting of the New England Political Science Association, Sheraton Harborside, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, May 5 & 6, 2006. This paper won the John C. Donovan Award for the best faculty paper presented at the 2006 Meeting of the New England Political Science Association.
• “Education: The 1980s to the Present.” Conference on Conservatism and American Political development, Yale University Center for the Study of American Politics, New Haven, CT. February 24, 2006.
• “The Political Behavior of Charter Schools.” Co-authored with Thomas T. Holyoke, Heath Brown, and Natalie Lacireno-Paquet. Presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Political Science Association, Chicago. Sept. 3, 2004.
• “The Influence of Founder Type on Charter School Structures and Operations.” Co-authored with Heath Brown, Thomas T. Holyoke, and Natalie Lacireno-Paquet. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, April 15, 2004.
• “Scale of Operations and Locus of Control in Market- vs. Mission-Oriented Charter Schools.” Co-authored with Heath Brown, Thomas T. Holyoke, and Natalie Lacireno-Paquet. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, April 15, 2004.
• “The Influence of Founder Type on Charter School Structures and Operations.” Co-authored with Heath Brown, Thomas T. Holyoke, and Natalie Lacireno-Paquet. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, PA August 28-September 1, 2003.
• “Straddling the Line: Charter Schools as Market and Political Actors.” Co-authored with Michele Moser, Heath Brown, Natalie Lacireno-Paquet, Thomas T. Holyoke. Presented at the 25th Annual Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy and Management, Dallas, Texas, 2002.
• “The Political Dynamics of State Charter School Policies.” Co-authored with Thomas T. Holyoke, Michele Moser, Heath Brown, Natalie Lacireno-Paquet. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, Massachusetts, August 29-September 1, 2002.
• “Market, Mission, and Student Achievement: An Examination of Intra-Charter School Organizational Distinctions and Cream-Skimming. “ Co-authored with Natalie Lacireno-Paquet, Heath Brown, Michele Moser. Presented at the Annual Association for Public Policy and Management conference, Washington, DC November 1-3, 2001.
• “Venue Selection and the Political Behavior of Charter Schools,” co-authored by Thomas Holyoke. Presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Meetings, San Francisco, August 29-September2, 2001.
• “Race, Issue Definition, and School Restructuring in Washington, DC,” Conference on “Mayors, Minorities, and Urban School Reform,” Russell Sage Foundation, May 18-19, 2001.
• “All for One and Each for Its Own? Charter Schools and Collective Action in the District of Columbia,” co-authored with Thomas Holyoke. Presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meetings, April 19-22, 2001.
• “Creaming the Top or Cropping the Bottom? An Analysis of the ‘Creaming’ of Student Populations by Charter Schools,” co-authored with Natalie Lacireno-Paquet, Thomas T. Holyoke, and Michele Moser. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. Seattle, WA, November 2-4, 2000.
  

OTHER PARTICIPATION ON PROFESSIONAL PANELS & CONFERENCES (since 2000)

• Panelist, “Evidence-Informed Policymaking and School Improvement: Using What We Know Now to Help Guide the Future,” Center for Education Policy/National Academy of Education Conference on School Improvement Under ESSA” Keck Center, National Academies of Science, July 23, 2019.
• Panelist, “School Choice: Shifting Policy and Politics,” with Randi Weingarten, President AFT and James Blew, Assistant Secretary of Education. Education Writer’s Association annual conferences. Baltimore, May 7, 2019.
• Presenter, “How Research is Adjusting to the Changing Terrain of American Education Politics.” Politics & Education Association business meeting. American Educational Research Association, Toronto, April 8, 2019.
• Panelist, “Choosing Charters: Better Schools or More Segregation.” Charters & School Choice SIG business meeting. American Educational Research Association, Toronto, April 7, 2019.
• Panelist, “The Role of Education Researchers in an Era of Fake News,” American Educational Research Association, New York City, April 17, 2018.
• Panelist, “The Rise of Nonprofit Education Journalism and What It Means for Education Researchers,” American Educational Research Association, New York City, April 16, 2018.
• Moderator, "Leveraging Politics and Research Use to Make a Difference " W.T. Grant Conference on “Advancing the Use of Research Evidence in Ways that Benefit Youth,” Washington DC, April 11, 2018.
• Panelist, “Book Panel: Takeover: Race, Education and American Democracy by Domingo Morel. Anton/Lippitt Conference: Citizenship and the City, Watson Institute, Brown University. January 26, 2018.
• Panelist, “How Social Media Is Changing the Politics of Education,” American Educational Research Association, San Antonio TX, April 27, 2017.
• Panelist, “Rethinking Policy Approaches: Go Big or Go Home,” speaking on “The Collective Impact Movement: Hope or Hype? American Educational Research Association, San Antonio TX, April 28, 2017.
• Moderator, “State of the Education Beat,” American Educational Research Association, San Antonio TX, April 30, 2017
• Featured Speaker and Panelist, “Politics Plenary: Politics and the Use of Research Evidence,” W.T. Grant Conference on Use of Research Evidence, Washington DC, February 13/14, 2017.
• Panelist, “What’s App-ening to Our Schools? – A Think Tank on K12 Education,”
  NY EdTech Week Festival, New York University, December 20, 2016.
• Discussant, “State Takeovers in K-12 Education: Design, Governance, and Political Sustainability,” Annual Meetings of the Association for Public Policy and Management, Washington DC, November 3, 2016.
• Discussant, “Intentionally Diverse Charter Schools: Promise and Perils,” American Educational Research Association, Washington DC. April 11, 2016.
• Public Scholarship ED-Talks: Relationships and Research Use in Policymaking, invited presentation, American Educational Research Association, Washington DC. April 9, 2016 http://www.aera100.net/ed-talk-videos.html.
• Panelist, Conference on “Reconsidering the Politics of Urban Infrastructure,”
  University of Illinois at Chicago May 13 – 15, 2015.
• Co-host (with Rick Hess, AEI) and panel chair, “Is the ‘new’ education philanthropy good for schools? Examining foundation-funded school reform,” a conference presenting original research papers commissioned with support from W.T. Grant Foundation and The Spencer Foundation, Washington DC, February 5, 2015.
• Discussant, “Promise Scholarship Programs: Evidence from Recent Evaluations." Annual Meetings of the Association for Public Policy and Management, Albuquerque, NM, November 6, 2014.
• Discussant, “Politics of Education Policy: Reform and Public Support.” Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington DC August 28-31, 2014.
• Moderator, "Changes in the Relationship between Education Research and Philanthropy." American Educational Research Association, Philadelphia, April 7, 2014.
• Discussant, “Taking Stock of Philadelphia: The 1990s and Today.” American Educational Research Association, Philadelphia, April 5, 2014.
• Discussant, “Perspectives on the History of the American School District: Reforms, Reorganizations, and Innovations, 1935-2014.” American Educational Research Association, Philadelphia, April 4, 2014.
• Panelist, “The Political Realities of Education Reform: What is the Role for Educational Research?” American Educational Research Association, Philadelphia, April 3, 2014.
• Panelist, “The ‘Portfolio’ Model and the Future of U.S. Urban School Reform,” American Educational Research Association, Philadelphia, April 3, 2014.
• Panelist, “The Backlash Against Testing,” Teachers College conference on “Testing Then and Now,” December 9, 2013.
• Panelist, "Discerning the Data around Charter Schools," Education Writers Association, Palo Alto CA May 2, 2013.
• Chair and discussant, “The Role of Intermediary Organizations in Policy Making: The Case of Incentivist Reforms, American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, April 30, 2013.
• Chair, “The Expanding Marketplace: Exploring the Roles of Philanthropies in an Era of Market-Based Reform, American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, April 29, 2013.
• Discussant, “New York City High Schools: Recent Trends and the Outlook for the Future,” CUNY Institute, March 27, 2013.
• Panelist, “Plenary session: The Politics of School Choice,” International School Choice and Reform Academic Conference, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, January 18, 2013.
• Panelist, "Transforming Urban Education: New York City Schools under Chancellor Joel Klein," New York Public Library, April 26, 2012.
• Panelist, “School Improvement Through Social Entrepreneurship?” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, BC, April 2012.
• Panelist, “Research on Schools, Neighborhoods, and Communities,” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, BC, April 2012.
• Moderator, “Bringing the Validity Conversations Home: When Education Measures Go Public,” Conference on “Educational Assessment, Accountability and Equity—Conversations on validity around the World,” Teachers College, March 29, 2012.
• Panelist, UFT Charter Conference, “Fulfilling the Promise: Building a Progressive Charter School Movement,” October 15, 2011.
• Discussant, “School Choice: The Latest Empirical Evidence,” American Educational Research Association Meetings, April 2011.
• Discussant, “Local and State Actors Involved in Education Politics and Policymaking,” American Educational Research Association Meetings, April 2011.
• Panelist, Graduate Student Council's Fireside Chat: "Critical Conversations: Explaining the Democratic Implications of Mayoral Takeover of School Districts.” American Educational Research Association Meetings, April 2011.
• Panelist, Districts in Research and Reform SIG Business Meeting: “Portfolio Management Models in Urban District Reform.” American Educational Research Association Meetings, April 2011.
• Chair, “Between Public and Private: Contracting Regimes and Urban School Reform,” Annual Meetings of the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO., April 30-May 4, 2010.
• Discussant and Chair, “Parents and Public School Choice: Information, Demand, and Social Stratification,” Annual Meetings of the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO., April 30-May 4, 2010.
• Discussant, ”School Choice: The Latest Evidence,” Annual Meetings of the Association for Public Policy and Management, Washington D.C., November 5-7, 2009
• Discussant, “Parent Choice,” National Center on School Choice Conference, Vanderbilt University, October 26/7, 2009.
• Discussant, “The Charter School Idea: Two Decades of Evidence and Evolving Expectations,” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego CA. April 14-17, 2009.
• Moderator and Discussant, “The Politics of Advocacy in Education: The 2009 Politics of Education Association Yearbook,” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego CA. April 14-17, 2009.
• Panelist, ““The New Politics of Educational Leadership” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego CA. April 14-17, 2009.
• Panelist, “Education and the Next President,” analyzing debate between representatives of the two major candidates, sponsored by Teachers College and Education Week, October 21, 2008.
• Moderator and discussant, “School Reform and Public-Private Partnerships,” American Political Science Association, Boston MA. August 28-31, 2008.
• Moderator, “The Learning Curve: Lessons of Education Policy in Modern America,” Policy History Conference, St. Louis, MO. May 29-June 1, 2008.
• Discussant, “The Rise of State Standards, Assessments and Accountability,”
  Conference on States Impact on Federal Education Policy, Washington, DC.
  May 8-9, 2008.
• Chair and discussant, “The Price We Pay: The Economic and Social Consequences of Inadequate Education,” Presidential Symposium, Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, March 24-28, 2008.
• Discussant, “Clarifying Charter School Complexity,” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, March 24-28, 2008.
• Chair and Discussant, Civic Capacity and Urban Education: Looking Back, Looking Forward,” Presidential Symposium, Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, March 24-28, 2008.
• Discussant, “Participant Effects of School Choice,” School Choice in the Nation’s Capital, Georgetown University July 19, 2007.
• Chair, “Foundations, Think Tanks, and the Impact on Education.” Clio at the Table: A Conference on the Uses of History to Inform and Improve Education Policy. Brown University. June 14 & 15, 2007.
• Discussant, “The Instructional and Policy Contexts of Charter Schools,” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, April 9-13, 2007.
• Moderator, Teachers College Symposium on “Examining America’s Commitment to Closing Achievement Gaps—NCLB and its Alternatives,” November 13-14, 2006. Panels on “Standards and Assessments,” “Progress and Outcomes,” “Improving Instructional Capacity.”
• Chair and Discussant, “New Perspectives on Power, Federalism, and Policy Change in Education,” Annual Meetings of the American Political Science Association, Philadelphia PA, Sept. 1, 2006.
• Panelist, “Public Engagement in Public Institutions,” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, April 7-11, 2006.
• Chair, “Charter School Enrollment: Multiple Methodological Perspectives on Sorting and Segregation,” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, April 7-11, 2006.
• Panelist, “School Choice: Examining the Past and Contemplating the Future,” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, April 7-11, 2006.
• Discussant, “Controversies Preceding, Related to, and Over the Future of the 'No Child Left Behind' Act,” Annual Meetings of the American Political Science Association, Washington DC. Sept. 3, 2005
• Discussant, “Urban Schools,” Annual Meetings of the American Political Science Association, Washington DC. Sept. 2, 2005.
• Commentator, “The Public and Private Sectors in Education Policy.” Conference on Federal and National Strategies for School Reform, Advanced Studies Fellowship Program; Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Brown University. June 24, 2005.
• Panel Chair and Discussant, “The Politics of Health and Educational Policy in Comparative and Historical Perspective.” Annual Meetings of the American Political Science Association, Chicago. Sept. 3, 2004.
• Discussant, “Early Findings on Reforming Philadelphia’s Schools: Reform Under State Takeover and a Diverse Provider Model.” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, April 13, 2004.
• Panelist, “Mayors, Accountability and Urban School Reform: District of Columbia,” Annual Meetings of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago. April 21, 2003.
• Speaker and panelist, “The Future of Choice,” Hechinger Institute on Education & the Media, Broad Seminar on Charter Schools and Other Choices, Los Angeles, April 6, 2003.
• Speaker, “Political Obstacles to Education Adequacy: Limits of Judicial Strategies,” 2003 Education Adequacy Conference, February 27–28, 2003, Alexandria, VA
• Speaker, “Vouchers and Electoral Politics,” Conference on the Implications of the Supreme Court Decision on Cleveland Vouchers,” National Center for the Study of Privatization of Education (NCSPE) at Teachers College, October 3, 2002.
• Discussant, “New Scholarship on School Vouchers: Implications for Politics and Policy.” the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, Massachusetts, August 29-September 1, 2002.
• Keynote Address, “The Politics of School Choice,” delivered at a conference on School Choice: Public Education at the Crossroads,” University of Calgary, May 11, 2002.
• Speaker and panelist, “Educational Equity in the Wake of Brown v. Board: Can it be Achieved?” Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, March 11, 2002.
• Discussion Group Leader, “Charter School Research and Practice Issues,” Consortium for Policy Research in Education, “Educational Issues in Charter Schools Conference,” Washington, DC November 12-13, 2001.
• Chair and discussant, “Education Politics in America,” American Political Science Association Annual Meetings, San Francisco, August 29- September 2, 2001.
• Co-organizer (with Wilbur Rich), Conference on “Mayors, Minorities, and Urban School Reform,” Russell Sage Foundation, May 18-19, 2001.
• Panelist, “Meet the Author Roundtable: Terry Moe, Schools, Vouchers, and the American Public,” Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meetings, April 19-22, 2001.
• Panelist, “Meet the Author Roundtable: Schneider et al., Choosing Schools: Consumer Choice and the Quality of American Schools,” Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meetings, April 19-22, 2001.
• Panelist, “Research Perspective: What Do We Already Know and What Else Do We Need to Know in Order to Make the Best Decisions?” National Invitational Conference on Schools Choice and Urban Education Reform, Rutgers-Newark Institute on Education Law & Policy, Newark, NJ, January 26-27, 2001.
• Co-organizer and Panelist, “Charter Schools as Political Actors: Understanding the Political Dimensions of Charter Schools,” U.S. Department of Education “2000 Charter Schools National Conference,” Washington, D.C., December 7, 2000.
• Discussant, “Markets and Measures: Comparing Choice-Based Policies in Housing and Education,” Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, September 2, 2000.
• Panelist, “Author Meets Critics: Melvin Holli’s The American Mayor,” Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April 27-30, 2000.
  

INVITED TALKS, PRESENTATIONS, TESTIMONY

• Local: District of Columbia Building Industry Association; District of Columbia Human Services Committee; DC Collaborative for Educational Reform; DC Forum for Collaboration & Support; DC Voice; Georgetown University Public Policy Institute; George Washington University Public Policy Workshop; Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments; Public School Charter Resource Center; Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers.
• Non-local: American Jewish Committee; Barnard-Columbia Center for Urban Policy; CATO Institute; City University of New York Graduate Center; Harvard University Kennedy School; Institute for Educational Leadership; I/D/E/A; National Association of State Directors of Special Education; Kansas City Mayor's Invitational Conference on Civic Capacity and School Reform; National Governors Association; National Institute for Urban School Improvement; Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School; Russell Sage Foundation; Teachers College of Columbia University; Texas A&M University; University of Delaware School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy.

AWARDS & HONORS 

Member, National Academy of Education, 2013-present.

Fellow, American Educational Research Association, 2013-present.

Stephen K. Bailey Award, offered every three years by the Politics of Education Association of the American Educational Research Association to recognize a scholar who has made significant intellectual and research contributions to the study of the politics of education (April 2016)

Norton Long Career Achievement Award, Urban Politics section of the American Political Science Association (Awarded September, 2015).

Districts in Research and Reform SIG Best Book Award, 2012 for Between Public and Private: Politics, Governance, and the New Portfolio Models for Urban School Reform, co-edited with Katrina E. Bulkley and Henry M. Levin, Harvard Education Press, October 2010.

American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Outstanding Book Award, 2010 for Spin Cycle: How Research Is Used in Policy Debates, The Case of Charter Schools. Russell Sage Foundation/The Century Foundation, 2008.

Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. & Annette L. Nazareth Member, School of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study, 2009-10.

John C. Donovan Award for the best faculty paper presented at the 2006 Meeting of the New England Political Science Association. For  “Education Policy and the Politics of Privatization since 1980.” 

Urban Affairs Association, the best article published in the Journal of Urban Affairs in 2003, for “Privatization, Politics, and Urban Services: The Political Behavior of Charter Schools, (Co-authored with Natalie Lacireno-Paquet, Thomas Holyoke, Michele Moser).

Best book published in the field of urban politics in 2001 by the Urban Politics section of the American Political Science Association, for Building Civic Capacity: The Politics of Reforming Urban Schools, co-authored with Clarence N. Stone, Bryan D. Jones, and Carol Pierannunzi.

Named Columbian College Distinguished Professor, George Washington University, May 2001.

Visiting Scholar, Russell Sage Foundation, September 1, 2000- June 30, 2001.

Best book published in the field of urban politics in 1999 by the Urban Politics section of the American Political Science Association, for The Color of School Reform: Race, Politics, and the Challenge of Urban Education, co-authored with Richard Hula, Marion Orr, and Desiree Pedescleaux.