Jessica Heppen, a nationally recognized expert in education research, policy, and practice, is the president & CEO of AIR. Dr. Heppen been with AIR for 20 years and, in that time, has held several key roles during her tenure.
This PowerPoint presentation, prepared for the Fall 2011 Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness conference, accompanies the research paper, The Impact of Indiana’s System of Benchmark Assessments on Mathematics Achievement. The objectives of the study described include the following. ...
Toni M. Smith is a managing researcher at AIR where she directs research and development projects focused on mathematics instruction and teacher professional learning.
Dr. Smith currently directs the development and experimental testing of a virtual coaching program designed to improve the alignment of teachers’ instruction to state standards funded by ...
Charter schools have become a widely used alternative to traditional public schools, and play an increasingly important role in state reform efforts. South Carolina stakeholders wanted to broaden their understanding of why some charter schools are more successful than others to inform their consideration of whether to expand this school ...
Disadvantaged populations are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking. AIR helps support the distribution of free materials that raise public awareness around human trafficking and connect victims to emergency services.
For decades, the cocoa industry has been controversial for its use of child and forced labor. AIR is conducting research funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to develop indicators that will measure the progress of eliminating child labor and forced labor in the cocoa sector.
The sudden influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon created an education crisis in Lebanon that affects Syrian and vulnerable Lebanese children. AIR and the UNICEF Office of Research–Innocenti are leading an independent impact evaluation of Min Ila, a cash transfer program for displaced Syrian children in the governorates of Mount ...
For decades, charter schools and district-run schools have been placed on opposing sides by advocates and policymakers. With support from the state and other partners, the Lawrence Public School District (LPS) state receiver brought these two seemingly opposing ideas together as a turnaround strategy for the district’s lowest performing schools. ...
Achieving Common Core-aligned mathematics instruction is not easy. AIR has teamed up with the Center for Education Policy at Harvard University to offer high-quality professional development to help teachers, schools, and districts improve their mathematics instruction.
Charter school stakeholders in South Carolina expressed interest in understanding the leadership characteristics and practices of charter school leaders across the state. Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast helped develop an online survey of characteristics and practices that was administered by the South Carolina Department of Education to leaders of all charter ...