Sara Wolforth
Sara Wolforth is a policy principal at AIR. Wolforth is the co-director of the State Support Network, a four-year contract from the U.S. Department of Education to support states and districts in advancing school improvement efforts. In this role, Wraight co-leads a core team of 30+ AIR and partner staff and oversees outreach, communications, needs sensing, and performance management. Previously, Wolforth oversaw the Midwest Comprehensive Center, a federally-funded center charged with building the capacity of state education agencies in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In addition, Wolforth led needs sensing, outreach, and dissemination efforts for the Regional Educational Laboratory of the Midwest (REL Midwest). Wolforth contributed to a number of publications including a book chapter on funding strategies for making schools more safe, equitable, and engaging, a 2012 practical guide for developing principal evaluation systems, and several REL Midwest studies.
Wolforth’s extensive facilitation experience includes supporting state-level task forces on competency-based education, educator effectiveness, literacy, regional support systems, civic education, and accountability. She contributed to the development of a framework to help districts and states think systemically about educator effectiveness practices and policies, and provided support to both states and districts working to redesign their educator evaluation systems. In her research, policy, and technical assistance work, Wolforth benefits from her experience as an educator, having taught in Chicago at the upper elementary and high school levels. Prior to entering the field of education, Wolforth was a practicing attorney.