Public Policy Associates has provided research and strategic consultation services to help clients assess educational programs, engage parents and teachers in the application of policy, hear from students, and plan for college scholarships and postsecondary access and success.
In this work, PPA has partnered with state education departments, educational associations, community-based organizations, and school districts. The work is led by PPA Vice President, Colleen E. Graber, who brings experience in educational settings, a systems perspective and strong research and facilitation skills to projects.
Below is a selection of PPA’s education-focused projects:
Partnering with the Early Childhood Investment Corporation to evaluate the Great Start Collaboratives and the Great Start Parent Coalitions. ECIC selected PPA and its partner organization, iEval, to conduct an evaluation of the Great Start Collaboratives and the Great Start Parent Coalitions. These entities work to improve system conditions for children, in pursuit of healthy … Continued
Partnered with Middle Cities Education Association to explore how poverty factors into school funding and student performance. Michigan students are not reaching proficiency, and there are inequities evident in performance among them across the state. These facts led to a deeper exploration of how to address the resulting opportunity gap. Looking at an extensive range … Continued
Partnering with the Michigan Department of Education to help schools understand the perspective of their African-American students. PPA was retained to conduct focus groups in schools participating in MDE’s African-American Student Initiative. A key goal of the project is to build the capacity of school leaders to use the findings to inform their efforts to … Continued
Partnering with the Michigan Department of Education to ensure meaningful engagement with stakeholders of education. MDE wanted to design the State’s plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) with input from a wide variety of stakeholders. MDE retained PPA to assist in gathering stakeholder input for the State’s ESSA plan, and provide research and … Continued