Helen Muhisani

Helen Muhisani is a senior researcher at AIR. She has more than ten years of experience in data analysis and reporting, with a particular focus on postsecondary outcomes and indicators of college and career readiness. Muhisani currently serves as the project director of a study examining the relationship between National Assessment of Educational Progress scores and student success in college and the labor market for a cohort of students in Virginia. Muhisani is on the project team for an evaluation of the implementation of the nationwide College Summit program. She also assists schools in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio with the implementation of a data-based decision making process designed to identify and support students at risk of not graduating on time.

Muhisani served as the survey and final report task leads for the evaluation of the New York City Department of Education Core Curriculum Options and Citywide Curriculum Professional Development. Muhisani led a team of researchers to develop six data inventories for the research alliances of the REL Southwest, which served as the basis for future research and technical assistance projects within the alliances. Muhisani also previously supported the National Charter School Resource Center, organizing and managing data for the National Authorizer-Charter School Catalog and other Resource Center projects. 

While at Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Muhisani was responsible for tracking key postsecondary indicators for CPS graduates, including college enrollment, college retention, college match, college planning during senior year including FAFSA completion, and employment after high school graduation. She also worked with programs such as Career and Technical Education, AVID, Gear Up, High School Counseling, and College and Career Coaches and Specialists to track the programs’ outcomes and annual reporting metrics. In Muhisani’s past positions, she successfully presented data to a variety of audiences, such as state agencies, state legislators, foundations, school administrators, school counselors and coaches, and the general public.  Muhisani has a successful history of working on many projects involving longitudinal tracking using third-party data sets.