A banner image featuring a bear statue surrounding by brick buildings and flowering trees. Text in the foreground: "First Annual SustainableED Conference: Research at the Intersection of Education and the Environment. May 1st, 2026. Providence, RI"

‼️ REGISTRATION NOW OPEN ‼️

Limited spots are now available to attend the SustainableED Conference on May 1 in Providence, RI!

Join us for an intimate event connecting ed x climate research to practice.

Register: bit.ly/41D3Bcx
More info: bit.ly/4lYQfAG

🚨New working paper alert! 🚨

The US spends huge $ on special education services for students with disabilities. Is that spending effective?

Today we released a working paper suggesting it is.

"Special Education Substantially Improves Learning: Evidence from Three States"

Let me explain...

Asking the internet to help crowdsource - what are your small pieces of advice for a successful campus visit?

Things like:

1. have a protein bar
2. drink lots of water,
3. wear comfortable shoes because someone will inevitably suggest a walk instead of meeting in their office

Thanks Riley! Congrats to your great news too! Looking forward to seeing you in New England!

I couldn’t be more grateful to be part of such a wonderful, supportive community. Students in Boston, please take advantage of the opportunity to cross-register and build your amazing network - it will truly make Boston feel like a welcoming home and @joshua-goodman.com is the best part of that! 🏠✨

Thanks so much, David!

I am deeply grateful to the @aeraedresearch.bsky.social
-NSF for their incredible support of doctoral students in the field of education. I’m also looking forward to connecting with my amazing cohort at the upcoming Fall research conference and the 2027 AERA Annual Meeting in Toronto! (3/3)

My dissertation chapter examines the impact of access to Career and Technical Education (CTE) at the academic threshold, specifically looking at college and workforce outcomes for lower-achieving students. (2/3)

AERA–NSF Grants Program Announces New Award Recipients AERA–NSF Grants Program Announces New Award Recipients

I’m thrilled to share that I have been selected as a 2026 AERA-NSF Dissertation Grantee!🎉 This milestone would not have been possible without the invaluable support of my advisor, @doughesm.bsky.social, and wonderful committee members, @joshua-goodman.com, Dr. Emily Gates, and Dr. Henry Braun. (1/3)

What an amazing time at #AEFP2026 Chicago! So grateful to reconnect with my friends and colleagues. You all always motivate me, and I'm lucky to be part of this lovely community. See you all in San Diego next year! ✈️

Literally! I couldn't agree more! 😉

I'm really excited to be selected for this award! Huge thanks to @aefpweb.bsky.social and Ascendium Education Group for providing such meaningful support for postsecondary scholars 🙌

@doughesm.bsky.social @weigao.bsky.social

See you all in Chicago! Faculty members and doctoral students from the @bostoncollege.bsky.social Lynch School will be presenting 10 insightful papers/sessions at @aefpweb.bsky.social. My presentation is on Friday where I'll discuss about the value of CTE for lower-achieving students!
#AEFP2026

@mattbarnum.bsky.social of @chalkbeat.org highlights our research about the relationship between students’ gifted and special education identification and family income.

Higher income -> gifted education
Lower income -> special education

There’s a lot to ponder about why this happens.

At my first APPAM in 2023, I was lucky enough to receive the E&I fellowship and meet so many wonderful colleagues and friends. Attending the past & present cohorts meet-up every year has made this one of my favorite communities at APPAM. Highly recommend applying!🙌

Proud to co-author this new article in CTER with FSU Ph.D. candidate Kevin Ganus, "An Overview of the Landscape of Statewide CTE Articulation Agreements". This is an increasingly common policy & the article provides an overview of what to know. A🧵: www.ingentaconnect.com/content/acte...

Sure! I just sent them via Bluesky chat. Please let me know if you can't see the message for some reason!

I‘ve used this Stata package to track students' pathways from high school graduation through college and occupation at age 23. Happy to share my do-file!

Excited to share a new manuscript and policy brief, published in TESE!! This is one of my dissertation papers, co-authored with @roddy-theobald.bsky.social, in which we study turnover patterns among paraeducators in WA state. When do paras leave the workforce and what are risk factors for exiting?

Revolving School Doors? A Longitudinal Examination of Teacher, Administrator, and Staff Contributions to School Churn - Emily K. Penner, Yujia Liu, Aaron J. Ainsworth, 2026 Non-teaching staff comprise over half of all school employees, and their turnover may be consequential for school operation, culture, and student success, yet w...

I’m really glad to see that our paper is now out at Ed Researcher! We examine turnover among the half of school employees who are not teachers to understand how their turnover compares. Using Oregon data (2007-23) for all public school employees, there are 3 new patterns that we document:
A 🧵

What the Best Career and Technical Programs Have in Common CTE programs must be rigorous and aligned with economic needs and technological developments.

What makes for a great Career and Technical Education (CTE) program? Enjoyed talking with
@edweek.org about what we know from research: www.edweek.org/teaching-lea...

The education research handbook that never closes If you’re a policymaker, district leader, or reporter trying to follow education research, it can feel like drinking from multiple fire hoses at once. One week brings a bold new claim about dual enrol...

The #EducationResearch handbook that never closes: @aefplivehandbook.bsky.social from @aefpweb.bsky.social! 🎉

Seriously people, check it out and provide feedback - especially if you have ideas for new areas of research on that topic or know of new studies.

fordhaminstitute.org/national/com...

We @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social are hiring a director for our Policy-Aligned Research Agenda Buildling Lab (PARABL), to help education system leaders build research roadmaps to effect change in a particular area.

More info here:

wheelockpolicycenter.org/wp-content/u...

The Kinds of CTE Courses Students Are Demanding From Their Schools Students are increasingly interested in digital technology, AI, and cybersecurity, survey shows.

The Kinds of CTE Courses Students Are Demanding From Their Schools: Students are increasingly interested in digital technology, AI, and cybersecurity, survey shows.

Community college enrollment has been declining since 2009/10. The optimal policy response to this depends on the root of this decline.

I'm thrilled @nber.org today released my working paper with Harvard PhD Joe Winkelmann titled:

"Labor Market Strength and Declining Community College Enrollment"

📢 New from the #EdWorkingPapers Policy and Practice Series:

A summary of “Does Expanding Access to High Quality Technical Education Induce Participation and Improve Outcomes?” by @yerinyoon.bsky.social and @doughesm.bsky.social!

📄 edworkingpapers.com/policy-pract...

#AnnenbergEdExchange

#2025APPAM was amazing! Got great insights on my paper and loved catching up with friends. @appam.bsky.social is extra special - I’ve been lucky to grow with this community, from E&I fellow to student ambassador to receiving an Ascendium grant this year. Next year it’s in Boston, welcome to my city!

Hi #APPAM2025 #2025APPAM folks - live today, our department at Vanderbilt is hiring a tenure-track assistant professor higher education scholar this cycle! Find the posting here: apply.interfolio.com/177753

Let me know if you're in Seattle and want to chat at all about the position/department.

Hi folks attending #2025APPAM #APPAM2025! Excited to see many of you in Seattle this week.

As usual, I am organizing a very informal happy hour for education policy folks at the conference to get together: Fri 11/14 starting at 6pm at Seattle Beer Co on Western Ave (~15 min walk from conference).