HGSE News: All

Explore Dialogue Across Differences

nschulmeyer — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:13:12 +0000

Explore Dialogue Across Differences nschulmeyer Tue, 07/07/2026 - 13:13 dialogue Ryan Nagelhout

Students engage in meaningful conversation at a 3D Dinner hosted by Dean Nonie Lesaux and Senior Lecturer Richard Weissbourd

July 7, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

The 2025–26 academic year brought a new initiative to the Harvard Graduate School of Education: Dialogue Across Differences (DxD), which aims to equip the HGSE community with the skills, mindsets, and opportunities to engage constructively across differences in perspective, identity, and lived experience.

Utilizing the 4Es (Equip, Engage, Embed, Expand) strategy, DxD is designed to build an inclusive culture along with the skills to hold disagreement in ways that are intellectually rigorous. The initiative holds trainings, supports student-led projects, and leads community programming, all with an emphasis on building dialogue skills and creating space for respectful and productive conversation.

“[DxD events] are effectively practice spaces wherein people can learn how to engage across differences, and they have been received very well with the students,” says Pratyush Rawal, Dialogue Across Differences lead.

Dialogue Circles, launched during the spring semester, saw small groups of students gather in a safe setting to discuss topics such as school choice, parental rights vs. educator judgment, and other sometimes-controversial topics in education.

Further, longstanding HGSE events were enhanced with added opportunities for conversation. DxD Debriefs, for example, take place after Askwith Education Forum discussions These gatherings of about a dozen HGSE students allow conversation to continue beyond Askwith Hall in a more intimate setting that encourages nuanced, candid, and personal reflections on the Askwith dialogue. The Dialogue Across Differences team creates conversation guides that are shared with participants beforehand, helping establish expectations ahead of DxD events and preparing students with useful language that encourages constructive dialogue.

Rawal says the feedback for Dialogue Circles and DxD Debriefs has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Everyone has been pleasantly surprised about the kind of events and the spaces that were generated. Most of the feedback has been ‘We need more spaces’ and ‘Create more such events,’” says Rawal. “That’s the data that gives me a lot of joy.”

Another effort to encourage open inquiry and respectful dialogue across HGSE included adopting schoolwide the Chatham House Rule, which states that you are free to use information from a discussion, but you are not allowed to reveal who provided the information.

As the DXD Initiative expands programming, Rawal says the team hopes those positive experiences spread the word among the HGSE community.

“How do we create champions out of the people who are already participants in these dialogues? How do we encourage them to encourage other people to join these discussions?” says Rawal. “It’s something that I’m constantly sitting with.”

“We co-created a supportive and open environment that demonstrated how these conversations are both possible and necessary for expanding care and curiosity in our world.”

Ph.D. student Caitlin Dermody on her 3D Dinner experience

HGSE’s annual Double Take, which this semester celebrated its 10th year, invited community members to share stories about the moments and experiences that have shaped how they see the world and our work in education. And HGSE’s longstanding 3D Dinners continued under the DxD umbrella, inviting Ed School faculty and students to share meals together while engaging in important conversations.

“The 3D Dinners, which stands for Dinners, Dilemmas, and Debates, often framed with a case study, modelled disagreement, or other discussion point, help bring topics difficult to discuss in the classroom to a more informal but still intentional dialogue,” says Rawal.

“I appreciated how participants were encouraged to consider questions on both a personal and systemic level,” says Ph.D. student Caitlin Dermody, who participated in a 3D Dinner this semester about the challenges and opportunities of holding difficult conversations. “At the dinners, we co-created a supportive and open environment that demonstrated how these conversations are both possible and necessary for expanding care and curiosity in our world.”

These are important skills for students to develop, says Senior Lecturer Richard Weissbourd.

"We live in a polarized country where people are too quick to demonize others and to retreat into their own corners,” he says. “We need to be able to do the sometimes-tough work of really listening to and caring for each other when it's hard.”

Weissbourd, who directs the Making Caring Common Project at HGSE, hosted a 3D dinner this semester along with Dean Nonie Lesaux. He noted the initiative reflects the school’s mission.

“We need to have these conversations while holding up basic human rights and principles of justice. A school of education is a great place to model how to do that,” he says. “The wonderful students in our 3D Dinners demonstrated beautifully what this looks like in practice."

Rawal notes that as the initiative continues, DxD plans to collect best practices and other resources so other groups can replicate the work — at HGSE and beyond.

“To expand this, it’s all about doing more research, creating a repository of best practices, and then sharing it with the world,” he says. “We’re the Harvard Graduate School of Education. We should not just be doing it for our students but also telling the world the best ways that this can be done.”

Explore Dialogue Across Differences  The HGSE initiative creates safe spaces for students to practice nuanced, respectful dialogue on complex education issues

Gen Z Isn’t Gen Me

nschulmeyer — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:38:01 +0000

Gen Z Isn’t Gen Me nschulmeyer Thu, 07/02/2026 - 11:38 Making Caring Common wellness mental health evidence future of work Research Lory Hough

July 2, 2026

Usable Knowledge

Connecting education research to practice — with timely insights for educators, families, and communities

Explore All Articles

They’ve been stereotyped as self-focused and screen obsessed, but according to a new survey from Making Caring Common (MCC), Gen Zers in the United States overwhelmingly want to do good for others in their personal and professional lives.

“There may be kernels of truth in some of these stereotypes, but they miss much of what is promising and exciting about this generation, and sometimes they are wildly unfair,” noted the survey authors. “Our data suggest that these stereotypes obscure, in particular, that today’s teens and young adults often care a great deal about others and improving the world.”

The survey, done by Gallup in partnership with MCC and the Walton Family Foundation, asked more than 2,400 Gen Zers — typically defined as those born between 1997 and 2012 — about their sense of purpose in life, priorities for and barriers to pursuing future “helping” careers, and how parents influence their priorities.

Nearly 80% of those polled said they were interested in jobs focused on helping or positively impacting other people — a desire that cuts across gender, race, ethnicity, and income level. However, there are barriers to taking on these jobs, including the belief, real or perceived, that helping jobs are low pay (49%) and stressful or emotionally draining (46%).

Below are additional key takeaways from the survey and strategies for helping Gen Z navigate barriers and pursue the kinds of jobs they are craving. As MCC’s faculty director Richard Weissbourd says, “If we want more Gen Zers to pursue helping careers, these jobs can’t undermine their financial stability or swamp them with stress.”

Notable Takeaways

Economists suggest that the rise of AI may shift the workforce from a “knowledge” economy to a “care” economy that requires many more workers with strong interpersonal skills who are invested in caring for others.
Gen Z women are more likely to be employed in these kinds of jobs compared with Gen Z men (63% vs. 48%), but gap is closer when it comes to wanting a helping job in the future: 82% women, 76% men.
Gen Zers who want a helping job or want to make a positive difference by race/ethnicity: Black (85%), Asian (82%), Latino (78%), white (77%), multiracial (71%). By household income: struggling on present income (81%), living well on present income (79%).
Feeling needed matters. About 34% of Gen Zers feel they are not needed by others and do not make a positive difference in others’ lives (31%). Adult men are especially likely to feel they are not needed (42%) or that they do not make a difference in others’ lives (35%).
Gen Zers who feel like they are needed by others and make a positive difference in the lives of others are about three to four times as likely to feel like their lives have a sense of meaning or purpose. This sense of meaning or purpose is strongly correlated with better mental health ratings.
Barriers get in the way of finding purpose or meaning: 52% cite wasting too much time on technology and 47% say mental health issues like anxiety or depression interfere.

Parents Matter

Parents are an important influence on their children’s desire to help others. A majority of Gen Zers (53%) say their parents talk to them about the importance of a career that positively impacts others; this percentage is especially high among Black Gen Zers and younger Gen Zers from lower-income families.
Focusing on personally fulfilling work (51%), maintaining work-life balance (49%), and finding a job that pays the bills without being too stressful (49%) are the three priorities Gen Zers say their parents focus on most when giving career advice.
Nearly 65% of employed Gen Z adults whose parents encourage them to help others in their career say they are currently in such a job; among those whose parents do not prioritize helping others, 44% are currently in helping jobs.

Strategies for Helping Gen Zers Pursue Helping Jobs

Increase pay and decrease financial pressure
City and county governments could provide wage supplements or tax credits. Consider loan forgiveness, scholarship programs, rent subsidies, and housing and relocation bonuses for those willing to work in under-resourced communities.

Reduce the emotional toll of helping jobs
Find ways to lower caseloads and class sizes, provide sane work hours, and offer resources and skills to frontline workers so they can be effective in their jobs. Offer mental health support, particularly for those in demanding roles. Create workplace cultures where staff feel connected and part of a common project.

Change the narrative about meaningful work
Create campaigns that change the narratives about these professions; highlight that they are worth the stress and are deeply meaningful. Elevate the perceived “status” of these jobs, including challenging the idea that these “soft” jobs don’t require high-level skills. Focus campaign on the specific, concrete impact of these jobs, avoiding murky calls for “making a difference.”

Show, don’t just tell
Many high school students have little understanding of what makes certain careers meaningful. Well-structured, credit-bearing volunteering, service learning, and internships in high school and college can make these jobs more enticing. So can guest speakers and courses that ask students to reflect on what it means to be of service.

Create new pathways and harness Gen Z’s aspirations
New pathways to these jobs that are rigorous but shorter and less expensive need to be created. That could include alternative forms of certification, online programs that don’t require young people to pay full tuition or to relocate, and paid residencies and internships that count toward licensure. Recognize caring young people who show ethical clarity and can respond — and resist — the rising influence of AI.

Gen Z Isn’t Gen Me New survey by Making Caring Common reveals that this generation really wants to do good and help others

Science of Reading Comprehension

nschulmeyer — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 20:01:31 +0000

Science of Reading Comprehension nschulmeyer Tue, 06/30/2026 - 16:01 literacy vocabulary science of reading reading Usable Knowledge

June 30, 2026

Usable Knowledge

Connecting education research to practice — with timely insights for educators, families, and communities

Explore All Articles

Reading comprehension is often described as a skill, but as Professor James Kim said in last week’s Literacy Insights conversation, students never just “read.” They always read something. What children understand depends not only on whether they can read the words on the page, but also on what they know about the topic, the vocabulary they can access, and how well they can connect ideas across sentences, texts, and experiences.

Kim’s discussion with Assistant Professor Phil Capin highlighted the importance of background knowledge, vocabulary, language comprehension, motivation, and aligned systems of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

You can catch up on past episodes by watching our Literacy Insights YouTube playlist here.

Key Takeaways

Reading comprehension depends on what students are reading and what they already know.
Comprehension is not a single, isolated skill. Students are always reading something, and their ability to understand a text depends on the topic, vocabulary, background knowledge, and ideas they bring to it. A student may read the words accurately but still struggle to make meaning if the content is unfamiliar.

Word reading and language comprehension are essential for making meaning.
While students need to be able to decode words accurately and fluently, they also need vocabulary, background knowledge, verbal reasoning, syntax, and an understanding of how ideas connect across sentences and texts.

Vocabulary grows through connections, not isolated word lists.
Educators should think about vocabulary as networks of meaning rather than individual words to memorize. Students deepen their understanding when they learn how words relate to other words, concepts, and contexts. As Kim put it, students need to know “words by the company they keep.”

Students comprehend more deeply when they have a meaningful purpose for reading.
Developing student motivation can help students engage more fully with texts and ideas. It is important students have “missions” for learning, whether through debate, discussion, problem-solving, or questions that invite them to take a position and use evidence to support their thinking.

Strong comprehension instruction requires aligned systems, not just individual strategies.
Improving reading comprehension at scale requires alignment between curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional learning. Schools need to consider not only what they intend to teach, but what is actually taught, and what is ultimately assessed. High-quality curriculum, paired with coaching and shared goals, can help create more consistent and meaningful support for students.

Related Resources

Science of Reading Comprehension  The sixth episode in the Literary Insights series focused on what matters most in developing reading comprehension 

Why Education Research Matters: Children Across Borders

nschulmeyer — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:55:46 +0000

Why Education Research Matters: Children Across Borders nschulmeyer Fri, 06/26/2026 - 14:55 immigration Why Education Research Matters Carolina Ruggero

June 29, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

An estimated 40 million children are living outside of the country where they were born. These children bring their own unique stories to the teachers and classrooms that welcome them. Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Gabrielle Oliveira leads research across the Americas to understand how immigrant children learn, adapt, and thrive.

Why Education Research Matters: Children Across Borders Associate Professor Gabrielle Oliveira on helping children — especially those who immigrate — adapt and feel supported in new environments

How Can We Talk to Kids About Patriotism?

nschulmeyer — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 19:04:16 +0000

How Can We Talk to Kids About Patriotism? nschulmeyer Thu, 06/25/2026 - 15:04 civics dialogue politics Democratic Knowledge Project democratic education Lory Hough

June 26, 2026

Usable Knowledge

Connecting education research to practice — with timely insights for educators, families, and communities

Explore All Articles

With the Fourth of July and America’s 250th birthday just around the corner, how should we talk to children about patriotism at a time when many adults feel conflicted about it? Recently, Professor Danielle Allen, author of Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality, which was reissued this year, and founding director of the Ed School’s Democratic Knowledge Project, shared her thoughts on kids asking questions, what she calls reflective patriotism, and how she’s been talking about the country’s 250th for the past five years.

To start, what does it mean to you to be patriotic?
Let me talk a little bit about the Educating for American Democracy Initiative, which I'm co-author on the Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy. We put at the center of that roadmap a concept called reflective patriotism. It was funded by both the first Trump and the first Biden administrations. So, it was a genuine cross-partisan effort. The idea that it's possible to blend love of country with clear-eyed reflection on both its strengths and its shortcomings and with a view to identifying opportunities for improvement. There is always a tension between love of country and then the kinds of emotions that come with recognizing your country's wrongs. And so, educators have the hard job of helping students pull those tensions into an experience of what we call reflective patriotism, where you can both be honest and appreciative of all the good the country has achieved and also be equally honest about, as I said, the shortcomings.

What are some ways that adults, especially those not feeling particularly patriotic, can have these honest talks with kids?
There are many different ways educators approach doing that. I would open up space for conversation. What are you excited about? What do you love about your country and what are some ways where we think our country maybe could be better? Just having those two kinds of basic questions — what do you love about your country and how do you think your country maybe could do better — is a start.

Does age matter? Are the questions different for first graders versus high schoolers?
Our roadmap goes from K through 12 and we think it could be used in pre-K. There are questions at every grade level and the whole thing is structured as questions. That's our basic mode of operating: Excellent civic education is inquiry-driven civic education. What you're really doing is inviting kids into the same kind of hard, deliberative experience that citizenship consists of. The point is that educating for American democracy is really bringing kids into that kind of practice of asking questions and deliberating with others who may have different answers, too.

But, for younger kids, we don't start with country. We say, what do you love about your neighborhood, your town, your city? The younger they are, the closer you start. When you look at the Educating curriculum, the trajectory from K to 12 is like concentric circles to help kids bring their attention to ever wider sphere of application. Honestly, I think a lot of young people haven't ever been given the opportunity to ask the question, "What do you love about your state, about your country?" I think, especially for kids who haven't had that opportunity, even for kids who aren't young, starting local is better because love of country starts from love of your own immediate community.

"It's learned art to be a democratic citizen, and it requires elements of head, heart, and hand — all three of those things."

Danielle Allen

Why is it important to have these conversations?
We have had such a negative discourse at the national level that reminding people to pull back and consider what are you getting is valuable. I mean, democracy is not a practice that people exactly come by naturally; you have to learn it. Just think about kids on a playground. It's not as if they start out as democratic citizens willing to deliberate together without using their fists and so forth. It's learned art to be a democratic citizen, and it requires elements of head, heart, and hand — all three of those things.

Explain those three things.
The head: You have to understand how institutions work. You have to understand the constitution, the rule of law, your state constitution, and how your municipal government is organized. The patriotism conversation is the heart part of the conversation. You have a connection to your community, a connection to your country, a desire to get through hard times together, not split up. And then the hand is just the actual doing of it. Citizenship isn't something you know. It's a thing you do. You go vote, you serve on a jury, you talk to your neighbors, and you identify a shared problem in your community and take that issue to your city council, for example.

What should parents and educators avoid saying to kids about being patriotic?
You should avoid saying that it was all to be condemned and you should equally avoid saying the founding of America was all nothing but a perfect human triumph. It's also important to look away from the politicians and look to the people. And that's what it means to consider, what do I love about my neighborhood, about my community, about my city? It reminds you that it's not really about politicians. At the end of the day, it's about us. And we are pretty awesome people, actually, and we have done great things. Our institutions of self-government have enabled that, and that’s worth understanding. … There's this very famous saying by a German-American statesman journalist and Civil War general: “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.” And that's sort of the attitude we're trying to cultivate with the reflective patriotism concept.

How are you feeling going into the 250th?
Well, it's funny. I wrote my book on the Declaration of Independence 12 years ago and I’ve been writing so many pieces over the past few years. I was joking to somebody that I've been doing 250th stuff for five years at this point already. So everybody else is just getting going, but I'm done. I don't mean that in a negative way. I mean, I'm excited. I'm going to be at Independence Hall in Philadelphia as a speaker for the Museum of the American Revolution and I'm looking forward to that. But I did the 250th already. I'm done.

Questions to ask young people about civic participation from Roadmap for Educating for American Democracy:

Driving questions (broad):
•    How have I helped my class or family? (K–2 grades)
•    How have people made our community better? (K–2)
•    How has civic participation changed throughout American history? How has it stayed the same? (6–8)
•    What matters to me and why? How can I make what matters to me be about more than myself? (6–8)
•    How have changes in the media affected American civic experience? (9–12)
•    What is “civil society”? (9–12)

Guiding questions (targeted):
•    If I disagree with a decision, how do I help change it? (K–2)
•    Who has the power to make changes in my community? (K–2)
•    What is the virtue or value of civil disagreement? (6–8)
•    How can I investigate my issue and find high-quality information? What are the root causes of the problem I am investigating? (6–8)
•    How can people in the United States be civic friends across divergent views of principles and values? (9–12)
•    How can we be reflective patriots, seeking reform while still loving America, its complex forms of politics and civic life, and its still-unrealized ideals? (9–12)

Learn more:

Educating For American Democracy: This national project was created back in 2021 to reinvigorate civics education in the United States by offering toolkits and curated resources for educators to use. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the U.S. Department of Education, the project is led by a diverse group of scholars and educators, including Danielle Allen.
Roadmap for Educating for American Democracy: At the heart of the project is a roadmap, co-authored by Allen. The roadmap introduced a term called “reflective patriotism,” which Allen discusses in the Q+A.
Danielle Allen’s book, Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality, includes a deep, line-by-line reading of the document, as well as Allen’s initial personal experience teaching it to a group of low-income adult students at night at the University of Chicago — students who were in the middle of trying to change their lives. Her motivation in writing the book, she said in an interview, “was to recapture the conversations we had with each other as we opened this text up together.” The book is being reissued this year to mark the nation’s 250th.
60-Second Civics: A podcast put out by the Center for Civic Education and used by educators as a quick way to “warm up” students before starting a civics or social studies class.

How Can We Talk to Kids About Patriotism? A conversation with Declaration of Independence expert Danielle Allen

New Report Shows that Gen Zers Want to Help Others, Which May Be Key to Their Mental Health

nschulmeyer — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 15:36:53 +0000

New Report Shows that Gen Zers Want to Help Others, Which May Be Key to Their Mental Health nschulmeyer Wed, 06/24/2026 - 11:36 Research Making Caring Common wellness mental health future of work News editor

June 24, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

Harvard’s Making Caring Common Project, in collaboration with Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation, today released the report, Gen Z Wants to Do Good: How Helping Others Supports Meaning and Wellbeing. The study explores what Gen Zers prioritize in work, where they find meaning and purpose, and factors influencing their mental health.

“Gen Z adults (ages 18–29 years old) report alarmingly high rates of anxiety and depression and 51% of these adults report lacking meaning or purpose, or both,” says Senior Lecturer Richard Weissbourd, faculty director of Making Caring Common, a program of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “Yet high percentages of Gen Zers want to do good in the world, and Gen Zers who feel like they are needed by others and make a positive difference in others’ lives — through their work or otherwise — are about three to four times more likely to experience meaning or purpose, which are strongly correlated with better mental health.”

In the study, 79% of respondents report wanting a job in the future that is “mainly focused” on helping others or making a positive difference in others’ lives. This desire to help others may not only be key to mental health but is “vital for our country’s moral and civic life,” Weissbourd says, and may be critical to earning a living: Economists suggest that the rapid rise of AI may shift the workforce from a “knowledge” economy to a “care” economy that requires many more workers who are invested in caring for others and have strong interpersonal skills.

Yet there are significant barriers to Gen Z pursuing helping jobs, the survey finds. While Gen Z aspires to do good in their careers, other factors appear to be more important, including financial security and work-life balance. “There’s good reason for Gen Z to prioritize financial security and work-life balance,” says Weissbourd. “If we want more Gen Zers to pursue helping careers, these jobs can’t undermine their financial stability or swamp them with stress.”

"Young people overwhelmingly want work that helps others, but only about half of those who want such jobs are in them," said Stephanie Marken, senior partner at Gallup. "Many assume these careers won't pay enough or will be too emotionally draining, and those perceptions are holding them back before they ever step into the fi eld. Helping young people see that meaningful work can also be sustainable is a real opportunity for employers and educators."

“We should think hard about who Gen Z are and what they value,” Weissbourd concludes. “We should consider how we can develop their interpersonal and ethical capacities, and how their aspirations might be fulfilled in jobs that create a better world.”

The free report is available today at both Gallup.com and MakingCaringCommon.org.

About Making Caring Common

Making Caring Common, a program of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, supports educators, parents, and caregivers in cultivating in children and young adults the capacities to care for others, to act with decency and integrity, and to pursue justice and the common good. Combining research, theory, the wisdom of practitioners, and strategic communications, Making Caring Common provides evidence-based resources and activities to schools and parents that develop in children empathy, self-awareness, a commitment to justice, and other key moral and emotional capacities.

About Gallup

Gallup delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 90 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of the world’s constituents than any other organization.

About the Walton Family Foundation

The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta.

New Report Shows that Gen Zers Want to Help Others, Which May Be Key to Their Mental Health Survey data from Making Caring Common suggests teens and young adults desire jobs that make a positive difference in others’ lives, but barriers stand in the way

10 Books That Help Tell the Story of Education in America

nschulmeyer — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 16:55:03 +0000

10 Books That Help Tell the Story of Education in America nschulmeyer Tue, 06/23/2026 - 12:55 history history of American education books civics Gutman Library staff

June 25, 2026

Usable Knowledge

Connecting education research to practice — with timely insights for educators, families, and communities

Explore All Articles

The New England Primer, or, An easy and pleasant guide to the art of reading: adorned with cuts: to which is added the Catechism (1836)

Location: Gutman Special Collections, digitized
Reason: Published in Boston by the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, The New England Primer is one of the earliest examples of reading books published in the United States. Primers were often printed by religious organizations and churches with a goal of “uniting alphabet and creed.” During the early 19th century, primers served to teach citizens and students the alphabet, reading, and writing, but also to share uniform religious doctrine.

The Freedman’s Spelling Book (1866)

Location: Gutman Special Collections, digitized
Reason: The most important historical text in Gutman’s collection, this rare textbook has been included in many exhibitions, including the soon-to-be Obama Presidential Center Museum celebration. The cover of The Freedman's Spelling-Book, supplied by the American Tract Society in Boston, depicts a newly emancipated African American student writing the word “freedom” on a blackboard. The society produced a series of educational books for use in the South with the following stated purpose: “This is designed to be the first of a series of books for the use of the Freedmen in their schools, families, &c. While it teaches to read and write, the series will aim to communicate also religious and moral truth, and such instruction in civil and social duties as is needed by them in the new circumstances in which they are placed.”

Helen Keller: Souvenir of the First Summer Meeting of the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf (1891)

Location: Gutman Special Collections, digitized
Reason: This publication details how 11-year-old Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf, learned to speak and write. Helen Keller would go on to graduate cum laude from Radcliffe College, now Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, in 1904. The short booklet was published by the Volta Bureau, which was founded just a few years earlier by Alexander Graham Bell in Washington, D.C., to serve as a library for deaf people and those researching deafness.

How We Think, John Dewey (1910)

Location: Gutman General Collections
Reason: Likely the most cited and influential book/treatise in the domain of education, How We Think introduced the term “critical thinking” as the name of an educational goal. John Dewey describes his book as written for two purposes. The first was to help people to appreciate the kinship of children’s natural curiosity, fertile imagination, and love of experimental inquiry to the scientific attitude. The second was to help people to consider how recognizing this kinship in educational practice “would make for individual happiness and the reduction of social waste.”

My City (1965)

Location: Gutman General Collections
Reason: My City, published 1965, is one title in the Bank Street Readers series, considered one of the first multiethnic urban basal readers that revolutionized early childhood literacy. The series was a collaboration between reading specialists at Bank Street College of Education in New York City and various children’s writers to ensure that books used to teach reading in urban school systems reflected city living and featured racial diversity. Books in the series include short stories, poetry, fables, and plays.

A Day with Debbie (1965)

Location: digitized
Reason: A Day with Debbie is one title in a series created by the Writing Committee of the Detroit Public Schools as part of their Great Cities Schools Improvement Program. A district effort, the series broke new ground for reading books by featuring city landscapes and diverse families instead of the traditional suburban, white family-focused readers of the era. The series was designed to address the “vital need for reading materials and instructional methods devised for children who live in multi-cultural, urban areas.”

Learning to Read: The Great Debate, Jeanne Chall (1965)

Location: Gutman General Collections
Reason: This landmark book analyzed the long-standing controversy between phonics-based and whole-language reading instruction methods. Professor Jeanne Chall included research from classroom visits and an analysis of studies, and concluded that explicit, systematic phonics (teaching letter-sound relationships) is crucial for initial decoding, while whole-language methods alone often fail struggling readers, leading to future difficulties. The book also introduced Chall's highly influential stages of reading development, which map a child's progression from decoding to becoming a sophisticated reader.

Children and Television: Lessons from Sesame Street, Gerald Lesser (1974)

Location: Gutman General Collections
Reason: In 1967, Professor Gerald Lesser was asked to help develop and lead the research department of the newly formed Children's Television Workshop (later known as the Sesame Workshop), the organization responsible for producing Sesame Street and other educational television programs. Lesser, an educator and psychologist, was also one of the first scholars to study the effect of television on young children. Children and Television chronicled how Sesame Street developed and included cartoons drawn by children's author Maurice Sendak.

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, bell hooks (1994)

Location: Gutman General Collections (physical copy missing, digital version available)
Reason: This book is so influential in this contemporary era in which we strive to teach cultural responsiveness that Gutman’s copy was stolen because of desired ownership, need for use, or perhaps fear of its content, thus censorship. In this seminal book, bell hooks revolutionized critical pedagogy. She argued that education should be a liberatory act — one that actively challenges intersecting systems of oppression (racism, sexism, and classism) rather than simply reinforcing the status quo. Her work emphasizes engaged pedagogy, mutual vulnerability, and holistic student empowerment.

Fugitive Pedagogy: Carter G. Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching, Jarvis Givens (2021)

Location: Gutman General Collections and digitized
Reason: As Professor Jarvis Givens makes clear in Fugitive Pedagogy, Carter G. Woodson had a profound influence on Black education, and the legacy of his work is evident in the pages of the Colored Teachers Associations journals. Woodson was the second Black person to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard and a life member of the American Teachers Association. One of Woodson's most significant contributions, as Given notes, was his development of Negro History Week, which later became Black History Month.

10 Books That Help Tell the Story of Education in America A curated look at books from the Gutman Library collection at the Ed School, chosen and explained by the library staff

Black Teacher Archive Launches Revamped Website

nschulmeyer — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:09:39 +0000

Black Teacher Archive Launches Revamped Website nschulmeyer Thu, 06/18/2026 - 14:09 Black Teacher Archive teachers and teaching history of American education Ryan Nagelhout

June 19, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

The Black Teacher Archive (BTA) announced the launch of a new website featuring a number of new ways to share and highlight its growing collection in the classroom and beyond.

The Juneteenth launch of BTA 2.0 marks a new chapter in the archive’s efforts to preserve the intellectual and political work of Black teachers in the 19th and 20th centuries by better curating and showcasing the collection’s vast resources for visitors to explore. Including new exhibits and curated features, a more robust search function, and a personalized profile option for users to save and collect research for future use, the archive’s creators hope the launch better puts the collection in the hands of a new era of scholars and learners.

“The Black Teacher Archive 2.0 is more user friendly for teachers, students, and researchers,” says Professor Jarvis Givens, co-founding director of the Black Teacher Archive. “It invites deeper engagement by all members of the public who are curious to learn more about the lives and legacy of African American educators during the 20th century Black freedom struggle.”

First announced in 2020 on the strength of a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Black Teacher Archive was unveiled publicly in 2023 as a collaboration between the BTA team and the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s (HGSE) Gutman Library. Two additional grants allowed the archive to expand its reach in 2024, including the site redesign and new scholarship and preservation efforts by archivists and scholars around the country.

The new site was created in partnership with Harvard’s Digital Arts + Humanities team (DARTH). Since launching formally in 2023, Givens said the BTA team took note of how people were using the digital archive in research and their classrooms and decided a new website could be more “responsive” for users while making it easier to use the vast collection the archive contains. Materials from the collection have been used in college and university courses, and the BTA hopes the expanded website could extend its use to K12 classrooms and beyond.

The personalized profile feature on the new site is a major addition, as users can now create a profile and save, organize, and share resources they collect as they explore the digitized resources. For example, users can search the more than 60,000 pages of materials from the records of Colored Teacher Associations within the BTA collection for information about “Negro History Week” or “literacy.” They can then save pages of research in personal folders, write notes on and about these files, and organize the search results for their own study. Users can even create links to share with classmates, students, or other researchers that Givens likened to a “personalized mixtape of archival sources.”

“It’s really exciting. My own experience searching through the materials has been elevated because of these changes,” said Givens. “I find myself getting lost in the materials while using the new portal because it allows you to ask different kinds of questions and to search the materials in a more systematic way. Comparing trends across and within states, keyword searching, organizing results, seeing highlighted text results, and downloading pages with detailed cover sheets that include information about the historical objects are small details that make a big difference on the learning experience for students and for analyzing the historical material.”

“I hope that scholars, educators, and students experience the BTA as a source of both knowledge and inspiration. These materials are both rich and robust. You experience the resilience and passion of a people with great aspirations in the face of terrible adversity."

Professor Imani Perry

The new website includes an updated Black education timeline, which was a popular feature on the site’s previous iteration, and a new feature, “Faces of the Archive.” Created by BTA researcher and incoming HGSE Ph.D. student Erica Buddington, it highlights stories of both widely known and lesser-known historical figures who appear in the archive. Also included in the revamped website are digital exhibits curated by past graduate students of the BTA’s Summer Research Institute.

“I hope that scholars, educators, and students experience the BTA as a source of both knowledge and inspiration. These materials are both rich and robust. You experience the resilience and passion of a people with great aspirations in the face of terrible adversity,” says Harvard Professor Imani Perry, co-founding faculty director of the archive. “I think they offer the possibility of new ways of understanding 20th century African American life precisely because school is such a common ground for communities, and I believe many people will be surprised at how central schools were to the fabric of Black communities.”

Perry noted a common thread throughout the project: many of the most famous figures of Black history have important educational threads to their own stories, which the archive helps bring to life in new detail.

“I also hope that people realize how many of the historic figures they admire were deeply embedded within these school communities, as students, educators or simply as engaged citizens,” says Perry. “Because then it becomes clear that the greatest among us emerge from ecosystems that have nurtured their development and imaginations.”

Givens credits BTA senior project manager Micha Broadnax, whose technical work behind the scenes on the archive helped the project “really come to life.” Also “central to the BTA’s origin story” is Theresa Perry, Ed.D.’82, who helped Givens and Imani Perry explore the idea that became the archive..

He also noted more than 90 institutions and historical repositories — including a number of state college archival collections — now have archived material searchable in the BTA's collection.

“We are grateful that so many people recognized the importance of collaborating to help elevate such a critical legacy in our nation’s history and in the story of African American education,” says Givens.

Givens said the BTA is working on a book, tentatively titled The Black Teacher Archive: An Anthology, which highlights “gems” from the collection along with new scholarship about Black teachers and tells the BTA’s creation story. The Black Teacher Archive also announced a virtual open house for September 10, which will share more of the archive and model new ways of effectively using its new features and exhibits for teaching and research.

Black Teacher Archive Launches Revamped Website The BTA 2.0 website features new exhibits, curated features, and resources for teachers and researchers

Schools, Colleges, and Parents Can Help Students Mend Fractures That Divide the Country

nschulmeyer — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 14:42:22 +0000

Schools, Colleges, and Parents Can Help Students Mend Fractures That Divide the Country nschulmeyer Wed, 06/17/2026 - 10:42 Making Caring Common civics News editor

June 17, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

Harvard’s Making Caring Common project, in collaboration with the Center for Innovation in College Admission at the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), released Turning the Tide in 2026: Preparing Students for Lives of Caring and Purpose, a report outlining the critical role of college admissions leaders, high schools, and parents in preparing teens to be ethical community members and citizens. Drawing on conversations with dozens of college admissions deans, the report also makes the case that colleges, parents, and high schools shouldn’t expect teens to have a single purpose or passion but should instead help teens clarify what they ﬁnd meaningful and how their values are connected to their college choices.

“We are in a moral free fall in this country,” says Richard Weissbourd, faculty director of Making Caring Common and senior lecturer at HGSE. “Americans struggle to engage constructively across differences, often retreating into division and demonization. There’s too much hostility in our public life and unchecked self-interest is too common. And our research shows ‘34% of teens and 51% of young people ages 19-25 report lacking meaning or purpose or both.’ That’s a huge problem, but one we believe college admissions leaders, schools, and parents can do a lot to address.”

The report, Making Caring Common’s fourth in the Turning the Tide series, describes the urgent need to help young people develop six moral and civic capacities: caring across differences, humility, curiosity, valuing the truth, upholding principles of human rights, and a sense of collective responsibility.

The report also provides college admissions leaders with action steps they can incorporate into their admissions process in order to better assess and weigh these capacities when considering prospective students.

“A student’s academic journey should do more than just prepare them for careers,” said Angel B. Pérez, NACAC CEO. “It should also prepare them to be engaged community members, critical thinkers, and compassionate leaders. That’s why we are excited to collaborate with Making Caring Common on this important report.”

Making Caring Common released its first Turning the Tide report in 2016, with hundreds of college deans and admissions leaders endorsing the report, affirming the need to value students’ genuine love of learning alongside qualities like caring, honesty, and fairness. This new report builds on that work, also expanding the role schools and parents play.

“We’ve seen some encouraging progress over the past ten years,” says Trisha Ross Anderson, Making Caring Common’s senior director of Higher Education and College Admission Initiatives. “But there’s so much more to do — both for college admissions leaders, high schools, and parents of college-bound students — and the work is more urgent than ever.”

Says Weissbourd, “Together with NACAC’s Center for Innovation in College Admission, we’re renewing the call. We’re asking college admissions leaders, schools, and parents to help cultivate students’ capacity to contribute to their communities and the common good and to find meaningful purposes and goals. We're also suggesting ways to reduce toxic achievement pressure.”

The free report is available today at MakingCaringCommon.org.

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), founded in 1937, is an organization of more than 28,000 professionals from around the world dedicated to serving students as they make choices about pursuing postsecondary education.

Schools, Colleges, and Parents Can Help Students Mend Fractures That Divide the Country  A new report from Making Caring Common makes the case that college admissions leaders, high schools, and parents need to help teens prepare to be ethical community members and citizens — and find meaning

Practical Insights for Families on Supporting Language and Literacy

nschulmeyer — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 18:20:33 +0000

Practical Insights for Families on Supporting Language and Literacy nschulmeyer Tue, 06/16/2026 - 14:20 language development literacy Ryan Nagelhout

June 16, 2026

Usable Knowledge

Connecting education research to practice — with timely insights for educators, families, and communities

Explore All Articles

The fifth episode of Usable Knowledge Live: Literacy Insights brought literacy experts together to discuss why oral language matters so much for later literacy development in children.

Assistant Professor and host Phil Capin spoke with Professor Meredith Rowe for “Practical Insights for Families on Supporting Language and Literacy,” which focused on language development, building vocabulary, and how building routines is key to literacy growth.

“Practical Insights for Families on Supporting Language and Literacy,” will be followed by the next episode of Usable Knowledge Live on Wednesday, June 17 at 5 p.m. “The Science of Reading Comprehension” will feature Capin in conversation with Professor James Kim exploring what research tells us about supporting reading comprehension across the elementary years.

You can catch up on past episodes by watching our Literacy Insights YouTube playlist here.

Key Takeaways

Early language development lays the foundation for later reading and writing
Children’s vocabulary and oral language skills help set the stage for reading comprehension. Even when children can decode words accurately, they need to know what those words mean and how ideas connect to understand what they read.

The quality of talk matters, not just the quantity
The conversation emphasized that supporting language development is not simply about talking more. It is about creating back-and-forth exchanges where children are being talked with, not just talked to. These interactions give children opportunities to respond, extend their thinking, and practice using language in increasingly complex ways.

“Decontextualized talk” helps children build vocabulary, critical thinking, and academic language
Conversations that move beyond the here and now are important in development. Talking about past experiences, future plans, predictions, explanations, pretend scenarios, and abstract ideas can help children build vocabulary, use more complex sentences, and develop the kinds of language they will encounter in school.

Everyday routines are powerful opportunities for language growth
Families do not need a special curriculum or separate activity to support children’s language development. Mealtime, bath time, car rides, errands, and other daily routines can all become moments for rich conversation. The goal is to build on what families are already doing and stretch those interactions in small, meaningful ways.

Shared reading is most powerful when it becomes interactive
Books introduce children to new words, ideas, places, and experiences they may not encounter in everyday life. Families and educators can deepen the reading experience by asking open-ended questions, connecting the story to a child’s life, inviting predictions, talking about how characters feel, and encouraging children to retell stories in their own words.

Related Resources

Smart Talk
How to lay the groundwork for child vocabulary growth from Usable Knowledge.
The Brain-Changing Power of Conversation
A resource from Usable Knowledge that highlights how back-and-forth interactions between children and caregivers impact language and brain development along with later literacy skills.
Deepening the Conversation
A Usable Knowledge piece highlighting how media can help enrich language and literacy development in early childhood.
Serve and Return
An explanation from HGSE’s Center on the Developing Child detailing how parents can support healthy development in children through back-and-forth exchanges between children and adults.
Raising Strong Readers
A Usable Knowledge piece offering strategies for parents and educators to encourage children to read.

Practical Insights for Families on Supporting Language and Literacy The fifth episode of our Literary Insights series focuses on building vocabulary and learning routines 

History as Power

nschulmeyer — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 18:57:17 +0000

History as Power nschulmeyer Mon, 06/15/2026 - 14:57 Student and Alumni Stories history civics museums Ed.L.D. Stories Lory Hough

Riley Jones IV, Ed.L.D.'26

Photo: Jason Morency

June 22, 2026

Ed. Magazine

The magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

Riley Jones IV, Ed.L.D.’26, sees the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary as an opportunity — a generational opportunity to “envision a United States that our young people, present and future, can be proud of,” he wrote in his capstone dissertation, “in spite of the tenor of our national discourse.”

But how can we do this?

Riley’s answer for the past year was to work with high school students who were training as museum tour guides at the Paul Robeson House and Museum in Philadelphia, the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. As part of his Ed.L.D. residency with the museum and the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania, Riley wanted to investigate how young people were processing the current discourse. As guides, the students were learning about history and educating the public on the life, art, and civil rights legacy of Paul Robeson, a blacklisted Broadway actor and activist during the 1940s and 50s who refused to perform for segregated audiences.

The goal, Riley says, was to help students take what they were learning and use that narrative history to “build power” with their peers while also making connections to their own lives. This summer, Riley will expand the work by launching the People’s 250 Youth Docents Program to train five students to give community walks in West Philadelphia, highlighting cultural institutions. He says helping young people connect with social change and how history shapes the present, while encouraging them to help others make that same connection, is especially critical during America’s semi quincentennial year.

“This is important at the country's 250th anniversary because it’s an inflection point to evaluate whether or not the systems that have gotten us to this point are the systems we want to carry us forward,” he says. “Honing young people's agency and decision-making power is not decorative, but fundamental to the design of a functioning democratic society.”

The reopening ceremony of the Robeson House, 2025

Photo: William Bradley

During his residency, Riley also developed a second, related project: planning, financing, and producing an event called the People’s 250 Assembly that will take place in Philadelphia later this summer. The event will use music, dance, and art to frame a conversation on how people envision the divided country's future at this milestone. “Participants will be responding to and designing around the questions: How do we think about narrative infrastructure in a local context?” he says, “and what can we build to make it easier for place-based collaboration to produce change?”

Initially, Riley wasn’t sure how the assembly would go over. At two information-gathering dinners he hosted, he asked students and local leaders if they wanted to take part in 250th celebrations.

“At first, people were like, we don’t want to participate. We feel that we're so divided in this moment. I don’t want to engage with it,” Riley says. But by the end of the dinners, people started offering ideas on who could give a talk or who might donate. “And when everybody does that together, that’s when the magic happens.”

As Riley was doing this work and moving through the Ed.L.D. Program, he started to wonder if history was simply his passion or a vocation, and the answer ended up being both. He has traced his own family’s history, including to his paternal granddad who was a sharecropper through his teen years in Covington, Tennessee, before attending Lane College and then moving to the south side of Chicago, where Riley grew up and where his grandparents still live.

“And on my maternal side, my great, great, great-grandfather Samuel Wynn fought in the Civil War until 1866 in Mississippi. He was 17 years old when he started and mustered out at about 21 or 22,” he says. Wynn used his Civil War earnings to purchase more than a hundred acres in Mississippi, allowing his family to bypass sharecropping. His descendants still own the land.

For Riley, who will begin a tenure track role as assistant professor of interdisciplinary leadership at Governors State University in Chicago teaching social entrepreneurship to doctoral students, it’s not enough to just know history — your own or the nation’s.

“For me, getting people to use history as a tool of social change really means helping them engage with the past through museums, archives, materials, rare books, those kinds of things where people can actually put their hands on things to understand what happened in the past so that in the present moment they can say, ‘Oh, this is how we've survived attacks on democracy before,’” he says. “We can look to the past for solutions that we can transpose into the current moment. I think a lot of people focus on the history part of it without focusing on the action part of it. For me, the action part is the more important part. What do we do now? And how does history tell us what is the morally, ethically, and values-aligned way to move forward?”

History as Power Riley Jones IV, Ed.L.D.’26, helps young people connect struggles of the past with today’s democracy in his work in Philadelphia

New Evidence Shows Personalized Student Supports Pays Off — for Life

nschulmeyer — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 18:48:33 +0000

New Evidence Shows Personalized Student Supports Pays Off — for Life nschulmeyer Fri, 06/12/2026 - 14:48 EdRedesign Research community engagement Sarah Grucza

June 22, 2026

Usable Knowledge

Connecting education research to practice — with timely insights for educators, families, and communities

Explore All Articles

For decades, policymakers and education reformers have chased the same question: How do we help students succeed? The answers have often focused on classrooms — improved curriculum, smaller class sizes, and better teachers. But a growing body of evidence suggests that learning, and the opportunity that it can unlock, doesn’t begin or end with instruction alone.

New research authored by economists Benjamin Goldman and Jamie Gracie, co-sponsored by The EdRedesign Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Opportunity Insights at Harvard University, offers concrete evidence proving the power of relationships and personalized student supports. The study, When Resources Meet Relationships: The Returns to Personalized Supports for Low-Income Students, finds that when schools pair concrete resources with personalized relationships, students’ outcomes improve — not only in the classroom, but well into adulthood.

At the center of the study is Communities In Schools (CIS), the largest integrated student supports provider in the United States, which embeds trained site coordinators in high-poverty schools. CIS serves more than two million students across more than 3,500 schools in 29 states and the District of Columbia each year, nearly three times the number served by the federal Head Start program.

These site coordinators aren’t charged with teaching classes or developing lesson plans. Instead, they help students navigate both academic and non-academic needs that often derail learning — including housing instability, health and mental health issues, family crises, and food insecurity — all while building trust-based relationships that anchor students to school.

The results were significant: Students who received three years of CIS support saw meaningful gains in test scores, higher graduation rates, and increased college enrollment. More striking still, the researchers project that these short-term gains translate into a 4.3 percent increase in annual earnings by age 27, adding up to more than $75,000 in additional lifetime income ($36,000 in present day value).

“It’s important to note that the academic gains we observe from CIS programs are only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to explaining improvements in graduation rates and earnings,” notes study co-author Gracie, a postdoctoral fellow at EdRedesign. “CIS helps keep students engaged in school and reduces adverse outcomes such as suspensions. These non-cognitive improvements nearly equally contribute to the program’s long-run impact.”

Why relationships make the difference

What makes personalized supports unique isn’t only the outcomes — it’s how they’re provided. The study shows that resources alone are not enough. What matters even more is how students access them, namely through building relationships with a trusted adult. Progressing that work is a cornerstone of EdRedesign’s Institute for Success Planning.

Led by EdRedesign Deputy Director Tauheedah Jackson, the Institute for Success Planning partners with teams of local leaders in urban, suburban, and rural communities to build, scale, and sustain place-based collaborations between neighborhood partners that center relationship-based personalized supports to create greater access and opportunity.

“At the core of Success Planning is an adult navigator, a caring adult who fosters a positive individual relationship with a child and their family, ensuring they are known, seen, heard and supported,” says Jackson. “Navigators serve as champions, mentors, advocates, and connectors. They eliminate barriers and create access to opportunities by co-creating an individualized plan for action that captures a youth’s strength’s, needs, interests, and goals.”

In practical terms, a navigator might help a student get glasses so they can see the board in a classroom, connect a family to stable housing, or intervene early when attendance begins to slip. Individually, these actions may seem modest, but collectively, the research shows, they fundamentally change students’ educational and life trajectories.

A practical policy matter

The implications of this research extend beyond one program or organization. The study estimates that a $3,000 per-student CIS investment over three years yields substantial returns per student — raising individual adult earnings and, in turn, boosting tax revenue.

“We’ve seen personalized supports be effectively implemented in red, blue, and purple communities and in rural and urban settings,” says Jackson. “While personalized supports can be implemented anywhere, we often find they are most effective when paired with local cross-sector collaboration, which ensures that public, private, and other resources are efficiently channeled towards reaching students and helping them succeed.”

At a time when policymakers are debating how best to allocate limited dollars, EdRedesign says the study’s findings offer a promising strategy to amplify the impact of existing initiatives. From college access programs to rent assistance and job training, personalized supports boost the impact of local, state, or federal programs, ensuring that they reach the students and families who need them most.

While inequality and declining opportunity can feel intractable, Goldman and Gracie’s latest research points to a proven approach leaders across sectors can adopt. Providing relationship-based personalized supports can improve outcomes for struggling students, both in the classroom and over the long run, and has the potential to scale in nearly any setting.

New Evidence Shows Personalized Student Supports Pays Off — for Life  Research sponsored by EdRedesign and Opportunity Insights highlights how relationships and individualized assistance improve academic performance and increase lifetime earnings 

Elizabeth Bonawitz Named Professor of Education

nschulmeyer — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:35:46 +0000

Elizabeth Bonawitz Named Professor of Education nschulmeyer Thu, 06/11/2026 - 13:35 tenure appointments Ryan Nagelhout

Elizabeth Bonawitz

Photo: Rose Lincoln

June 11, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

Harvard Graduate School of Education Dean Nonie Lesaux has announced the promotion of Elizabeth Bonawitz, a leading developmental cognitive scientist and psychologist whose work explores the complex way students learn.

Bonawitz, previously the David J. Vitale Associate Professor of Learning Sciences, has been promoted to Professor of Education.

“There is so much privilege and responsibility that comes with being a senior faculty member here, and I’m excited to continue my research, mentorship, teaching, and service in this new role,” said Bonawitz.

Bonawitz’s research at HGSE focuses on the basic science theories of learning with the broader goal of informing educational practice. Using cognitive development and computational modeling, her research focuses on the structure of children’s early causal beliefs, how evidence and prior beliefs interact to affect children’s learning, and the role of social factors in guided learning.

“Elizabeth’s well-deserved promotion to Professor of Education is a milestone for HGSE and for the learning sciences more broadly,” said Lesaux. “Since coming to HGSE in 2020, Elizabeth has brought rigorous experimental methods, sophisticated computational modeling, and expertise in developmental cognitive science to her work on STEM learning. Working in labs, museums, homes, and schools, she addresses important questions designed to uncover how children learn and reason about science concepts.”

Through her work, Bonawitz has improved the understanding of factors that impact the development of children’s mental models about their world and how children learn from others, enabling the field to build better theory about when and why learner outcomes vary.

While her research has expanded the learning sciences at HGSE, her mentorship and work in the classroom helps create a vibrant learning environment on Appian Way.

“In addition to her extraordinary scholarship, Elizabeth is a thoughtful teacher and mentor, and her leadership on the foundational How People Learn course has enriched the learning experience for all HGSE students,” noted Lesaux. “I’m thrilled that she is being recognized not only for her outstanding research, but also the many ways she strengthens our community and advances the field of learning science.”

Bonawitz was sure to thank the community she’s helped build at the Ed School, noting it as a significant force in her teaching and work.

“I feel especially lucky for the in-between moments: walking to a café with colleagues, grabbing tea, splitting a biscuit, and spending an hour talking science and laughing until our sides hurt,” said Bonawitz. “Those small moments create a sense of belonging that has made Harvard feel like an intellectual home, and I’m profoundly grateful to spend this next chapter among people who value them too.”

Bonawitz joined the Ed School in 2020 as the inaugural David J. Vitale Associate Professor of Learning Sciences, a newly endowed chair at HGSE to support an assistant or associate professor whose work focuses on the use of learning sciences to study education. Previously, she served for seven years as an assistant and associate professor of psychology at Rutgers University. Bonawitz earned her Ph.D. in brain and cognitive sciences from MIT in 2009, then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley from 2009 to 2013.

Elizabeth Bonawitz Named Professor of Education Bonawitz, a developmental cognitive scientist, joined the Ed School in 2020

Chambers, Hunter Receive Alumni Council Awards

nschulmeyer — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:31:05 +0000

Chambers, Hunter Receive Alumni Council Awards nschulmeyer Wed, 06/10/2026 - 13:31 Student and Alumni Stories Alumni Council Award Ryan Nagelhout

L-r: Julian Kenneth Braxton, Ed.M.’99; Caroline Hunter, Ed.M.’99; Dean Nonie Lesaux; and Steven Chambers, Ed.L.D.‘21, at the 2026 Alumni Day

Photos: Jill Anderson

June 11, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

The Harvard Graduate School of Education honored two alumni — Steven Chambers, Ed.L.D.‘21, and Caroline Hunter, Ed.M.’99 — for their outstanding contributions to the field of education.

Chambers, the executive director of the NYC Young Men’s Initiative and a special adviser in the NYC Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice, was given the HGSE Alumni Council Award for Impact in Education. Given annually, the Impact in Education award goes to an alum who has successfully created and implemented work that has impacted the field and communities while bringing hope to the educational landscape.

Hunter, a former chemist, activist, and science and math teacher in Boston, was also honored with the HGSE Alumni Council Award for Excellence in Education, given annually to an alum who demonstrates significant, long-term service in the field of education while representing the mission and values of the Ed School.

Chambers and Hunter were presented their Alumni Council Awards on Harvard Alumni Day on Friday, June 5, as part of an HGSE event in Askwith Hall that featured presentations from six Ed School alums, a musical performance, and recognition of Chambers and Hunter along with departing members of the school’s Alumni Council.

Calling Reverend Chambers “the very best of HGSE,” Julian Kenneth Braxton, Ed.M.’99, chair of awards committee of the HGSE Alumni Council, noted the many ways his work puts the Ed School mission into practice in the real world.

“What distinguishes him is the combination of moral leadership and real-world impact. He does not just speak about equity or justice; he builds the structures and programs that move communities forward,” said Braxton. “Simply put, his work has had a meaningful impact on the lives of young people, and his work embodies what the Impact Award is meant to recognize.”

Chambers’ leadership and vision has created tangible, large-scale results in one of the biggest education systems in the United States. Initiatives such as JobsNYC, the Men’s Well policy agenda, and the Young Men’s Initiative highlight his commitment to improving outcomes for marginalized communities through systemic change. A 2021 Harvard Gazette profile of Chambers highlighted his work to “make connections, close divides, and strengthen communities.”

“In a profession where Black men are a minority, I'm especially honored to be recognized for my contributions to the field of education. I was raised under the African philosophy of Ubuntu: I am because we are. So, my identity is deeply rooted in community,” said Chambers. “I consider it a privilege to be able to take up space in this sector and to do so with the conviction that there's a responsibility to model excellence and serve with intention.”

Chambers co-authored New York City’s Outdoor Learning Initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped sustain learning for more than a million students during the pandemic by bringing classrooms into parks and other outdoor spaces. He also served the greater Houston, Texas, era for more than a decade as an elementary school teacher, college access counselor, district administrator, and associate pastor. Leaning on his practice as a theologian, Chambers said he considers his work to be a reflection of his call to religions ministry and vocation that every side of a young person’s life informs the quality of their education.

“It means the world to have a body of my peers acknowledge my accomplishments post-graduation. As a graduate of the Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) Program, I owe a great deal of my professional refinement to HGSE, the faculty of the Doctor of Education Leadership Program, and my Cohort 9 classmates,” said Chambers. “HGSE alumni are transforming the education sector and beyond every day. I am only one of many. So to be nominated and acknowledged is an honor that I'm genuinely humbled by.”

Image opens in new tab.

HGSE alums filled Askwith Hall to celebrate their peers
Image opens in new tab.

Several alums took the stage to share insights and personal stories from the field of education
Image opens in new tab.

Recent graduate Tanaka Chikati, Ed.M.’26, gave a musical performance during the event

Hunter, who retired from Cambridge Public Schools in 2010 after more than 32 years of service, has a long history of leadership and organization in education spaces. Beginning as a substitute teacher at Cambridge Rindge & Latin in the late 1970s, Hunter was hired as a math teacher, then held several different positions including assistant principal, mediation for success instructor, and student government advisor. She co-wrote the Concerned Black Staff (CBS) Report of Minority Student Data Report of Achievement (1985-86), which was the first statistical report on the achievement gap in Cambridge Rindge & Latin Schools.

“Caroline Hunter’s life work is a testament to the values and mission of HGSE. I often think of the Excellence Award as a ‘lifetime achievement’ honor, and in reading about Ms. Hunter, it is clear that she is a most deserving candidate,” said Braxton. “Like HGSE’s commitment to creating equitable solutions and improving outcomes, Ms. Hunter has done this in every stage of her career. Her activism, leadership, and commitment to equity stood out to both me and the committee. Caroline Hunter represents the very best of the field.”

Hunter also played a significant role in the Polaroid Revolutionary Workers Movement, co-founding the movement which petitioned the Polaroid Corporation in 1970 to end its support of South African apartheid. The subsequent boycott was considered the first anti-apartheid boycott of a U.S. corporation.

"I am humbled and honored to be selected as the recipient of the 2026 HGSE Alumni Council Award for Excellence in Education," said Hunter. “It is particularly important that this honor is from educational peers and practitioners who support the vision that a quality education is a human right and not a privilege for a few. I am a living example of how educational access, a quality education, and equal opportunity can change the lives of generations.”

Hunter detailed her career in education and advocacy in a brief speech, paying tribute to her parents for working hard “to provide us with the opportunities that they were denied under segregation” and inspiring her to give the same opportunities to others with her work.

“My life’s work has been to share my gifts and advocate in order that others will have what I have been afforded,” she said. “Equal access to a quality education and equal opportunity: that has changed my life and allowed me to make a change for the better.”

Hunter’s lifetime of advocacy and work in education has earned her a number of awards, including the National Education Association Rosa Parks Memorial Award in 2012. Among many other honors, she has also been awarded the Cambridge NAACP Education award, the MASS Teachers Association Louise Gaskins Civil Rights Award, and the Dr. Effie Jones Humanitarian Award from the School Superintendents Association.

Braxton noted the wide breadth and range of accomplishments and the impact on communities across the globe the HGSE Alumni Council saw in this year’s nominees.

“I have always known that HGSE has outstanding alumni, but serving on this Awards committee has shown me the depth and breadth of their impact,” said Braxton, who serves as the Bezan Chair for Community and Inclusion at the Winsor School in Boston. “Our alumni are truly living the values and mission of the school, and their work is both inspiring and instructive. They inspire me, and I know they will inspire you as well. I am proud to be a HGSE alum.”

Image opens in new tab.

Dean Nonie Lesaux presented Chambers and Hunter with their awards
Image opens in new tab.

Michelle Leung-Henry, Ed.M.’97, reflected on the power of storytelling and belonging
Image opens in new tab.

Alondra Canizal Hsu, Ed.M.’10, stays connected to HGSE through her work with the Alumni Council
Image opens in new tab.

Stuart Drexler, Ed.M.’00, spoke on belonging, agency, and AI

Chambers, Hunter Receive Alumni Council Awards Alums were honored for their educational contributions and commitment to HGSE’s mission at HGSE Alumni Day

Raising a Reader in the Digital Age

nschulmeyer — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:19:20 +0000

Raising a Reader in the Digital Age nschulmeyer Wed, 06/10/2026 - 11:19 artificial intelligence literacy digital literacy Usable Knowledge Live Ryan Nagelhout

June 10, 2026

Usable Knowledge

Connecting education research to practice — with timely insights for educators, families, and communities

Explore All Articles

The fourth episode of Usable Knowledge Live: Literacy Insights brought literacy experts together to discuss the impact artificial intelligence and technology can have on literacy development.

Host Assistant Professor Phil Capin spoke with Assistant Professor Ying Xu for “Raising a Reader in the Digital Age,” which focused on how to tell the difference between digital literacy experiences that fuel learning and those that distract. The two detailed why conversation matters for developing reading skills, which technologies can supplement learning experiences, and what habits AI users may develop that impact cultivating literacy skills.

“Raising a Reader in the Digital Age” will be followed by the next episode of Usable Knowledge Live on Wednesday, June 10 at 5 p.m. “Practical Insights for Families on Supporting Language and Literacy” will feature Capin in conversation with Professor Meredith Rowe.

You can catch up on past episodes by watching our Literacy Insights YouTube playlist.

Key Takeaways

Not all digital reading experiences are the same
Not all “screens” or “digital reading” experiences are alike. Some digital tools are thoughtfully designed to support comprehension and vocabulary and increase access. Others are much busier and can distract from the text itself. The key question is not whether reading happens on a screen, but whether the design of the experience helps children focus on meaning.

Conversation remains essential to supporting literacy development
Adult-child interaction is still central to literacy learning. Research shows that when digital books are not designed to encourage interaction, adults may spend more time managing the device than discussing the story. Print books often make those rich conversations easier, though some digital tools can also support meaningful dialogue when designed well.

Technology can support literacy when it is built for a clear purpose
Technology is most promising when it helps children engage more deeply with reading, rather than simply adding noise or novelty. Good learning design can help support specific literacy goals, improve access, build vocabulary, and help students work through challenging text structures.

AI may be a useful supplement, but not a substitute
AI chatbots and other technologies should not replace human relationships or instruction. Children’s literacy development depends on a larger ecosystem of relationships, motivation, instruction, and context. AI tools can be part of that ecosystem but cannot replace many of its essential factors.

The real question is how children are using AI, and what habits it is shaping
Families and educators have an important role to play in helping children use AI tools thoughtfully and critically. While AI can summarize text, for example, the productive struggle of reading and comprehending full text is an important skill some students may now bypass. As more students use AI in their work, educators need to focus on what skills may be lost along the way.

Related Resources

The Impact of AI on Children’s Development
A related conversation featuring Ying Xu on what we know so far about AI’s effects on children and why AI literacy matters.

Why Education Research Matters: AI and Children
An interview with Ying Xu on why research on AI and child development is so important as these tools become more embedded in children’s lives

AI Can Add, Not Just Subtract, From Learning
A piece highlighting Ying Xu’s work on how AI may support learning when used thoughtfully and studied carefully.

Using E-Books to Get Young Readers Talking
A Usable Knowledge resource that shares how using digital books can impact meaningful parent-child interaction.

Talking, Sharing, and Playing Together
A piece on early-literacy apps designed to spark conversation, play, and interaction between children and caregivers, reinforcing one of the episode’s key themes: technology can support literacy best when it adds to human connection rather than replacing it.

Raising a Reader in the Digital Age In the fourth episode of the Literary Insights series, scholars debate the benefits and pitfalls of AI use when reading

Why Education Research Matters: Relationships

nschulmeyer — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:16:09 +0000

Why Education Research Matters: Relationships nschulmeyer Mon, 06/08/2026 - 16:16 relationships Why Education Research Matters Carolina Ruggero

June 9, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

Senior Lecturer Junlei Li studies how simple, everyday moments can help children grow. Through his “Simple Interactions” approach, he shows how small, everyday connections can transform children, families, and systems.

Why Education Research Matters: Relationships

HGSE Announces Fulbright U.S. Student Award

nschulmeyer — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:30:10 +0000

HGSE Announces Fulbright U.S. Student Award nschulmeyer Mon, 06/08/2026 - 13:30 Honors and Awards Student and Alumni Stories News editor

Nana Nyarko, Ed.M.'26

Photo courtesy of Nana Nyarko

June 9, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

Nana Nyarko, Ed.M.'26, has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award to serve as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Belgium for the 2026–2027 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

A recent graduate of HGSE's Online Master's in Education: PreK-12 Pathway, Nyarko will work with local English teachers and lead community projects during her year in Belgium.

Close to 2,000 Fulbright U.S. Students — recent college graduates, graduate students, and early career professionals — pursue graduate study, conduct research, or teach English in schools abroad each year.

They are recognized alongside faculty, researchers, administrators, and established professionals who teach or conduct research in affiliation with institutes abroad annually through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 as a bold investment in global peace and American prosperity through educational and cultural exchange. The Fulbright Program is marking its 80th anniversary in 2026, which coincides with America's 250th anniversary celebration. This dual milestone provides an unprecedented opportunity to showcase the Fulbright Program's role in America's legacy of leadership, innovation, international collaboration, and American excellence.

Fulbright provides opportunities for exceptional Americans and participants from 160 countries and locations to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. For eight decades, Fulbrighters have been leaders at the forefront of discovery and innovation, conducting cutting edge research, advancing critical industries, and preparing future generations with new skills and perspectives. Fulbrighters have included 46 heads of state or government, 63 Nobel Laureates, 93 Pulitzer Prize winners, 83 MacArthur Fellows, and countless leaders in all sectors and industries across the United States and around the world.

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program.

In the United States, the Institute of International Education implements the Fulbright U.S. Student and U.S. Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org.

HGSE Announces Fulbright U.S. Student Award Nana Nyarko, Ed.M.'26, to serve as Fulbright English teaching assistant in Belgium

A Tribute to Mary Grassa O'Neill

mjorgensen — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 18:15:42 +0000

A Tribute to Mary Grassa O'Neill mjorgensen Fri, 06/05/2026 - 14:15 retirements Marin Jorgensen

Mary Grassa O'Neill waves to graduates as they walk to Harvard Yard during Commencement 2026

Photo: Jill Anderson

June 12, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

Since joining the HGSE faculty, first from 2004 to 2008, then for good in 2013, Senior Lecturer Mary Grassa O'Neill has been an integral part of the community in numerous and varied ways. In addition to her current role of senior lecturer, she has brought her expertise in school and district leadership to her roles as director of Professional Education at HGSE (then Programs in Professional Education); faculty director of the School Leadership Program; founding faculty member of the Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) Program; manager of Fieldwork, Internships, and Doctoral Fellowships across HGSE; and faculty lead for the HGSE/HBS Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CSML). Within all these roles, Grassa O'Neill, foremost, is a committed and generous mentor to her students and valued collaborator to her colleagues. On the occasion of her retirement from HGSE, we present the following comments, delivered as part of a career celebration in her honor.

A Gift to Mary Grassa O'Neill

by Professor Deborah Jewell-Sherman

One of the things you may not know about our esteemed colleague, Mary Grassa O’Neill, is that she is a lover of the theater. So it is fitting that I present my tribute to Mary in Three Acts.

ACT 1: A SONG
Let me preface that which will soon ensue with profound apologies to both Learner & Lowe of Camelot fame and to you the listeners. For truly, an American Idol I will NEVER be!!! Nonetheless, here I go with Act I - my musical tribute titled “Mary!”

MARY (Paraphrased from "C’est Moi" from Camelot sung by Robert Goulet)

Harvard! Harvard!
From Dorchester, she learned the name.
Harvard! Harvard!
To be a part became her aim!

She knew in her soul what they’d expect to see.
And all that and more she would be.

A prof. at the School of Ed must be invincible;
Have knowledge obscure but also quite refined.
Be a scholar of some renown;
Humorous, but never a clown:
With reports factual and always in on time.

To students she must be a fashion icon;
Demure, neatly coiffed, and scarf always in place.
But where in the world,
Was there in the world,
A prof. who could brighten every space?

Mary! Mary! I have to admit,
Though she would say, “Untrue!“
That teacher, who, these marvels could do,
Mary! Mary! It’s you!

She dazzled at the “B” school and here.
She’s simply the best by far.
Teaching docs, principals, or courses online,
One try and au revoir!

Mary! Mary! So classy and wise!
Scholarly with a compassionate sway!
And here she stands, beautiful to behold;
Exceptionally brave, amazingly bold;
To teach here on Appian Way!

To teach with great skill must be an easy task for her;
Speak clearly with force, yet also with great ease;
Talk school jargon flawlessly;
And love all principals to be;
While sending doc students to residencies.

Field work placements also must be lots of fun to her.
Grading papers and reading capstones her milieu!
But where, in the world, was there in the world?
A prof. so untouched and pure?

Mary! Mary! I have to disclose,
And I do share with pure glee,
That prof. in whom these qualities bloom,
Mary! Mary! It’s she!

From morning to dusk, she’s here with a grin.
For students she is a thrill!
If she had taught poor Adam and Eve,
They’d be in Eden still!

Mary! Mary! The angels did send
To teach mere mortals below.
And there she stands, as calm as a prayer!
A joy to behold, with sweet love to share.
The very best colleague I know!
Mary!

ACT 2: A HAT

It ALL has been said. Mary is a rock star who has worn many different hats. But for her students, the most important hat Mary wore was as their teacher and mentor; their go-to person when they needed advice; their sounding board and clarifier of obtuse research; their moral compass when they were trying to find their way; and their source of solace during troubling times.

For them, Mary has always been a champion. She not only believed in every student’s potential; she also noticed it, nourished it, and protected it with a loving heart. And students she has touched — both here in the U.S. and those all around the globe — will ever remember her with love and gratitude.

ACT 3: A FLOWER

There are some people in this world who have sun inside them. These are rare people who change the way the world feels. Around them you become happier, lighter, and brighter and you laugh like you did as a child. You speak without fear of being judged and you show the truest version of yourself. Such people make everything feel like an adventure, and they turn ordinary days into unforgettable moments. Such a person is our Mary.

She is respected across the university and loved here on Appian Way — by custodians and deans, by fellow educators, by security teams, and by office staff and everyone in between — for the beautiful way she walks through the world.

She is not only what she’s accomplished, she’s also the person that exists when no one is watching. That quiet version of Mary, who sneaks candy into mailboxes at holiday time; anonymously gives money to ease the burden of a staff member’s loss; generously shares her office and her parking space; and gives rides home even when it is out of her way.

For David and the rest of my family, Mary has been a blessing beyond measure and a source of pure sunshine! For me, she has been my sister by another mother and my joy on Appian Way!

It has been said that in life one needs three friends: one to laugh with; one to cry with; and one to grow with. I have found all three in you, Mary. You’re the person who turned my Harvard ordinary moments into some of my best memories. And no matter where life takes us, you’ll always be a safe space and my forever Bestie. Because some friendships aren’t measured by time. They’re measured by how deeply you feel seen, understood, and loved.

And lastly Mary, I hope you can see yourself through all of our eyes. For if you could see the beauty, the brilliance, the love, and the joy that we see in you every day, you would know you are truly one of God’s most precious gifts and so worthy of all that has been said and done today!

For My Aunt, Mary Grassa O'Neill

By Katie Grassa, Ed.M.'11

Some of you may know that I was a teacher and a principal, though it feels strange to say those words because I still consider myself both a teacher and a principal. These roles have helped my aunt and me bond and have shaped our lives over the years.

Every time I come to Harvard, someone tells me they love my Aunt Mary and have known her for years. Well, I have had the privilege of knowing her since birth, so I want to share a few important things that you all may or may not know about her. She is an extraordinary baker. If you invite her over for dinner, I suggest requesting her chocolate chip cookies or lemon meringue pie, they are staples at every Grassa family gathering. She is an ice cream enthusiast, a caretaker, and a dedicated suit wearer. Yes, if you were wondering what she wears on weekends at home, it is still a full suit and a beautiful scarf, much like she wears at work.

She is also someone who writes text messages as though they are formal letters, complete with greeting, body, and salutation. Some may think that is old-fashioned; however, she has recently added emojis, especially the dancing ladies or a variety of colored hearts.

When I graduated from college, my aunt had just retired as superintendent of the Milton Public Schools. I was looking for a teaching job, and Milton offered me a first-grade teaching position. I was young and eager to forge my own path and did not want everyone to simply refer to me as “Mary’s niece,” so I opted for a job in the Boston Public Schools (BPS) instead. Little did I know that my aunt was even more well known in the Boston education scene than she was in Milton.

In August, I moved into my first classroom. I spent days preparing and quickly tried to befriend the school custodian. As soon as she saw my name, she asked if I was related to Miss Grassa who taught seventh-grade English at the Grover Cleveland School. I replied, “Yes, she is my aunt.” She went on to tell me how my aunt taught her not only how to read, but how to love reading and how to be a student. The good news for me was that my room shined like the top of the Chrysler Building every morning before school, and anytime I reached out to the custodian, she was glad to help me. Thank you for that, Auntie Mary.

Over the years in BPS, I have met so many of my aunt’s former students, staff members, and mentees, many of whom now fondly call her “Auntie Mary.”

My aunt began her leadership journey at a time when most school principals were men. Throughout my tenure in the Boston Public Schools, however, I have had countless people approach me to tell me that Mary helped them on their path to leadership. The majority of those people have been women, many of whom are leaders of color. They share the same story: Mary was the first person to tap them on the shoulder and tell them they were ready for leadership. She encouraged people to facilitate, to return to school, to become school leaders, and to believe in their own capacity. At the time she began doing this, it was rare. Her impact, however, has been profound and has helped pave the way for so many women leaders in education.

I have been granted a tremendous privilege: having an aunt and uncle who understood what it meant to be urban school educators. My Aunt Mary and her husband, my Uncle Thom, were both middle school principals in Boston at the same time. Being able to drive home from work and debrief the day with them sustained me through 12 years as a principal. While my aunt and uncle often offered differing advice or shared different stories of leadership, together they created a support network of people I not only trusted, but who loved and cared for me deeply. I am truly grateful for their support.

I was asked to speak today about my Aunt Mary’s contributions to the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I think the most important thing is that Mary understands that both practice and research are essential, and that neither can be successful without the other. Practitioners need research to grow, and researchers need practitioners to learn from. That collaboration ultimately serves the students who are educated every day, and my aunt lived this throughout her tenure here, both leading the School Leadership Program and the doctoral program, Ed.L.D.

I will close by saying that my aunt’s impact cannot truly be calculated. It includes the students she taught, the schools she led, the districts she served, Boston Public Schools, Milton Public Schools, the Archdiocese of Boston, the Principal Center, and world-class school leadership programs across Boston, including the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Business School. Her students and influence reach far beyond Boston and Cambridge and have an impact around the world.

I would ask you to pause for a moment and think about that impact. It will be felt for decades to come.

Image opens in new tab.

On a panel to mark HGSE's Centennial, 2020. L-r: Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell, Mary Grassa O'Neill, Deborah Jewell-Sherman, Jennifer Cheatham, Drew Echelson
Image opens in new tab.

Outside Gutman, 2022
Image opens in new tab.

With HGSE alum Jeff Perrotti during Commencement Week, 2019
Image opens in new tab.

With HGSE colleagues past and present in Harvard Yard, Commencement, 2015
Image opens in new tab.

Recording part of virtual Commencement, 2021
Image opens in new tab.

With colleagues at Dan Koretz's retirement celebration, 2019
Image opens in new tab.

Faculty portrait, 2007
Image opens in new tab.

With a participant of Professional Education at HGSE's Urban School Leaders program, 2023

Career Highlights

2018–present: Faculty lead, HGSE and Harvard Business School (HBS) Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CSML)

2010: Education for Service Award, inaugural year, University of Massachusetts Boston

2009: Milton High School Library named the Mary Grassa O’Neill Library

2004–2008, 2013–present: Senior lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education; faculty member in Ed.L.D. Program, master's programs in education leadership, and professional education programs

2003: Milton Foundation for Education creates Mary Grassa O’Neill Leadership Award presented annually to an outstanding leader in the Town of Milton

1993–2003: Superintendent of schools, Milton Public Schools

1993: Boston Public Schools creates the Mary Grassa O’Neill Writing Award presented annually to excellent student writers

1989–1993: North Zone Superintendent, Boston Public Schools

1973–1982: Various roles, University of Massachusetts Boston; including associate professor, master teacher, project director

1968–1989: Various roles, Boston Public Schools; including principal, curriculum adviser, and teacher

The beloved longtime faculty member whose work with professional education and school leaders influenced generations of educators and students is retiring at the end of this academic year

Dyslexia IRL: More Than Just a Reading Challenge

nschulmeyer — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 20:15:45 +0000

Dyslexia IRL: More Than Just a Reading Challenge nschulmeyer Tue, 06/02/2026 - 16:15 learning differences Student and Alumni Stories literacy Maya Povhe and Lynn Margherio

Members of the HGSE Dyslexia Club and Lynn Margherio, a fellow at the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, organized the Dyslexia IRL conference, which hosted 333 attendees

Photos courtesy of the HGSE Dyslexia Club

June 3, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

When we began imagining what a conference about dyslexia could look like at Harvard, we started with students’ experiences. Maya, the co-founder of the student-run HGSE Dyslexia Club, saw a gap in the way conversations were happening that was both personal and urgent.

Our world is missing out on so much talent from youth with dyslexia and other learning disabilities because they struggle to navigate traditional education structures and career transitions.

Conversations about dyslexia — even those at HGSE — seem to focus only on early childhood and learning to read. But these miss the importance of the career transition period in a young adult’s development: even the most prepared students with dyslexia frequently get caught off guard when they get to college or start a career, where there's more reading, writing, and self-advocacy skills required in times of high pressure.

Lynn, a fellow at the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, wanted to help Maya bring her vision of a conference on dyslexia to life. She supported the student team in shaping a gathering that could hold many things at once: research, personal storytelling, practical tools, career pathways, creativity, and community.

On April 24, the HGSE Dyslexia Club welcomed 333 people, online and in-person, to the Harvard Graduate School of Education for the first conference of its kind at HGSE focused specifically on adolescents and young adults with dyslexia. Attendees included students, parents, educators, counselors, researchers, family members, advocates, and dyslexics with lived experience.

From the beginning, Maya wanted this to feel different from a traditional academic conference. We spent months on calls talking to potential speakers from a range of backgrounds in all parts of the country, trying to make sure every side of a young person with dyslexia’s story was being told.

During our planning process, we were finding it difficult not to veer too much on the side of either celebrating or pitying dyslexia but hold space for both of those feelings being part of its range of human experiences. Our biggest goal for the event was for it to feel authentic, like a place where people could be their whole selves and feel comfortable asking anything that came up in that process.

The opening community panel set that tone. Assistant Professor Phil Capin facilitated a conversation with high school student Sophia Pagan and HGSE students Regine Celius, Ed.M.’26, and Princess Emeanuwa, Ed.M.’26. The panelists spoke with honesty about their own range of experiences across multiple countries, including in identification, school systems, family advocacy, mental health, teaching, belonging, and what it feels like to be understood.

A post-conference reflection from Capin captured the spirit of the day: “Parents, educators, and teenagers often have the same hopes and anxieties for the kids they love, but those emotions can be expressed in very different and sometimes opposing ways. Conversations like this one give voice to those tensions to navigate paths forward,” he said.

Building a career is a scary thing for everyone involved, and that spirit of real conversation carried through the day. Presenters and panelists included researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, artists, students, filmmakers, and professionals across fields such as the University of Alabama Birmingham’s Caroline Richter and John Chambers, former CEO and chairman of Cisco Systems. Sessions explored stress, stigma, mental health, peer mentoring, practical learning strategies, assistive technology, strengths-based identity, school-to-prison pipelines, youth voice in education policy, restorative practices, career-building, storytelling, music, and personal stories of living with dyslexia.

As the day drew to a close, a few key takeaways consistently came up in conversations:

If you have met one dyslexic person, you have only met one dyslexic person. No two stories sounded the same. Dyslexia showed up differently across school, family, language, identity, mental health, work, and creativity.
Success is rarely linear. Many speakers described frustration, misunderstanding, exhaustion, or stigma. But they also described the people and supports that made a difference: a parent who kept asking questions, a teacher who noticed, a mentor who made the future feel possible, a school that understood, a tool that opened access, or an interest that helped a young person keep going.
Resilience matters, but it does not have to mean doing everything alone. People thrive when environments are designed with them in mind, when support is available without shame, and when strengths are recognized alongside challenges, but life transitions can alter those situations completely. Self-advocacy skills can help in building new support networks in new places.

What stayed with us most was the energy in the room. People wanted to talk. They wanted to connect. They wanted to compare notes, share resources, ask better questions, and keep building.

One attendee expressed dismay that there were so few mentions of literacy in the programming, but another six thanked our team for not making it a core focus. They said it was refreshing to finally be in an environment where dyslexic teenagers were discussed as more than a reading score, and that some of the insights they got out of the day were life-changing.

To us, that is one of the clearest signs that the original vision resonated. Dyslexia IRL did not end with a single answer. It ended with people wanting more: more stories, more research, more practical tools, more shared language, more connection, and more attention to the lives of adolescents and young adults with dyslexia.

We hope Dyslexia IRL helped build a shared understanding across students, families, educators, researchers, employers, and institutions. Most of all, we hope it helped uplift the next generation of dyslexic students and young adults as they define success for themselves.

Maya Povhe, Ed.M.'26, is a graduate of the Education Policy and Analysis Program and a multidisciplinary researcher. Her work and publications span education, economics, digital policy, food systems, global affairs, and sustainability.

Lynn Margherio, founder and former CEO of Cradles to Crayons, is passionate about empowering children and youth to access the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. She will be a senior fellow at Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative beginning in August 2026.

Dyslexia IRL: More Than Just a Reading Challenge Student conference about dyslexia looks at the struggles adolescents and young adults face, too

The Powerful Role School Culture Plays in Teacher Professional Development

nschulmeyer — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 19:15:54 +0000

The Powerful Role School Culture Plays in Teacher Professional Development nschulmeyer Mon, 06/01/2026 - 15:15 commencement Commencement 2026 Ph.D. Stories professional education teachers and teaching Student and Alumni Stories Susan Flynn

Santiago Pulido-Gómez, Ed.M.’22, Ph.D.'26

June 1, 2026

News

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Explore All Articles

Hear “school culture” and some people think of spirit week and free bagels in the staff room on Fridays. What is often missed is the system underneath all of that — the norms, routines, and values that shape how teachers teach and children learn.

Doctoral marshal Santiago Pulido-Gómez, who prior to his doctoral studies was a research fellow for the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, is deeply engaged with school culture and the possibilities it holds. His dissertation, “Teachers as Culture Carriers: Teacher Culture as a Tool for Teacher Professional Learning and Development,” explores the elements of the school environment that foster or hinder teachers' growth.

Two days before Commencement, Pulido-Gómez spoke about his research, his motivation, and how family and friends are critical to the successful completion of a Ph.D.

How does it feel to be selected by your peers as a class marshal?
I am very honored to have this opportunity. It was such a nice surprise, and I see it as a meaningful recognition on top of all the excitement of culminating my Ph.D. experience.

What is your personal motivation for your research?
I've always been a teacher at heart. I loved my school experience, not just academically, but my school had a very strong culture. I went to a British school similar to Harry Potter, so we had houses and house competitions, and that was unusual in a Colombian context, right? It was very formative for me, and it made me enjoy my time at school. I wanted to become a teacher, and I was a very good student. In my country, there is a social stigma that you're too smart to be a teacher. I heard that phrase over and over, so I decided to study the economics of education to understand the problems that prevent some of the best students from becoming teachers. And it’s the path I have been on ever since.

How do you define school culture?
Culture has visible and less visible elements. There are visible artifacts: uniforms, how people dress, architecture, how spaces are decorated. Then there are behaviors and practices: the norms, rituals, routines, and day to day practices. Finally, there is a deeper level of culture that we cannot see directly but know is there: shared values and beliefs, the things that are taken for granted. In my research, I focus specifically on the subculture of teachers within schools.

How can school culture support teacher growth?
One key theme that appears across settings is privacy as a strong professional norm in teaching. It has important purposes: it protects teacher autonomy and gives teachers ownership over their classrooms, but it can also hinder learning and cultural transmission — the possibility of learning the school culture from colleagues. In my dissertation, I describe three kinds of boundaries that protect this privacy: spatial boundaries that disperse or compartmentalize teachers, temporal boundaries that leave little shared time for interacting, and social boundaries, such as frictions between teacher groups, that limit peer learning.

I examine how these boundaries operate in a case study of an established charter management organization in Colombia that ran several long standing schools with strong cultures and was then given six new schools to manage. The organization transplanted teachers from the old schools into the new ones with the goal that they would carry the culture with them. This case allowed me to see which elements enable culture carrying among teachers, which elements hinder it, and how teachers overcame those barriers in some instances.

How did they do that?
One example is what I call conjoint work rituals. These are intentional moments when teachers work together synchronously. They might share a physical space to plan, co create materials, troubleshoot issues, or simply work side by side while talking through questions. Another example is what I call conjoint duties. In one case, a new teacher told me she learned a great deal from a colleague while they did recess supervision together. They would walk around the schoolyard, talk, ask questions, and share experiences. These routine tasks, which we often take for granted, can become meaningful spaces. If we want to change the profession as a whole, we need to foster more opportunities for peer learning, which can’t happen only through top down directives. By shifting to a culture in which teachers are willing to trade a bit of privacy, there’s more structure for cultural transmission and mutual learning.

"If we want to change the profession as a whole, we need to foster more opportunities for peer learning, which can’t happen only through top down directives. By shifting to a culture in which teachers are willing to trade a bit of privacy, there’s more structure for cultural transmission and mutual learning."

Santiago Pulido-Gómez, Ed.M.’22, Ph.D.'26

Thinking about your six years at HGSE, is there any academic highlight?
One of the most enriching experiences was building close relationships with my dissertation committee. Before starting the Ph.D., I imagined that you only interact with your committee at a few formal moments. Instead, the three professors on my committee became both academic and personal mentors. They supported me, taught me how to be a good scholar, and modeled how to navigate the personal dimensions of academic life. Another set of important relationships has been with my peers. I learned early on that you need to learn from “insiders” who can help you navigate the program. I was fortunate to form strong friendships with more advanced Ph.D. students, especially through my work with the Harvard Educational Review.

Tell me about your work to help future Ph.D. students.
Because I started during Covid, I felt that my own orientation had been incomplete. As a way of giving back, I worked with the doctoral programs office — especially with Clara Lau (Director for Doctoral Studies) and her team — and with other students to enhance the orientation process. One concern is that the Ph.D. journey, while structured around clear milestones, can be very isolating. One change I pushed for was to ensure that later year Ph.D. students met the incoming students as early as possible. They could ask about courses, research paths, and personal experiences. More importantly, those early conversations could form the basis of lasting relationships.

It sounds as if much of your work’s focus is about not leaving things to chance — creating structures that support learning and relationships. Does that resonate with you?
Yes, very much. I think I have also absorbed this perspective from my advisor. We talk a great deal about culture. One idea that has stayed with me is that a lack of structure can itself be a kind of culture. However, if you want to intentionally shape culture, you must create systems and structures to support it. That applies to academic life and to teaching. Both can feel very unstructured and “sink or swim.” I believe you can and should put structures in place, though they may look different in each context, that foster collaboration, mentorship, and shared learning.

What do you plan to do next?
I hope to continue contributing to the challenge of teacher professional development. For me, research is a way to amplify educators’ voices and to show how their daily experiences should inform school leadership and education policy at district and national levels. My plan is to return to Colombia and contribute from the academic sector to these conversations and efforts.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
I think sometimes we underestimate the role that family plays in getting us through the Ph.D. journey — the ups and downs, the stress, and the uncertainty. Staying healthy and grounded requires people who remind you that the Ph.D. is not the only thing in the world. In my case, my partner has been an amazing source of support and without him, I could never have done this. My parents and siblings in Colombia have also been very supportive, and they deserve to be mentioned for getting me through this process. There is just immense gratitude for all of that.

The Powerful Role School Culture Plays in Teacher Professional Development With his research, doctoral marshal Santiago Pulido-Gómez, Ed.M.’22, Ph.D.'26, studies the environments that best support growth