Sarah Arden

Sarah V. Arden is a principal researcher at AIR in the area of special education. In this role, Dr. Arden serves as the deputy director for the National Center on Intensive Intervention, as project director on several state and locally funded projects focused on implementation of Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), and as an advisor to the Center on MTSS. Dr. Arden previously served as project director and implementation coordinator for a U.S. Department of Education funded Investing in Innovation and Improvement (i3) development research grant investigating district-wide implementation of tiered systems in mathematics with a focus on intensive interventions for students with disabilities and other at-risk learners. She was also a senior recruiter on an Institutes of Education Science funded evaluation study of MTSS of reading in early grades.

Prior to joining AIR, Dr. Arden was an Office of Special Education (OSEP) Fellowship Scholar at the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned her Ph.D. and supported large-scale randomized control trials investigating mechanisms to increase academic outcomes and improve the school experience for students with disabilities.

Her previous work experience includes a role at the California Department of Education as an educational diagnostician, as an elementary resource specialist in K-6th grade in the Clovis Unified School District in Central California, and as an adjunct professor in the special education department at the Kremen School of Education at California State University, Fresno. She has presented at many national and international conferences and published various book chapters and peer-reviewed articles focused on high quality IEPs, special education services, RTI/MTSS of support, systems change and alignment, and improving outcomes for students with disabilities.