I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at the 2026 Meeting of the American Education Research Association. Over the course of the week, staff and grantees of the Foundation will participate in several sessions that I hope you’ll attend.
As many of you know, the U.S. Department of Education recently released a report by Amber Northern, senior advisor to the Secretary, on the future of IES. I look forward to the opportunity to share my reactions to the report in a session on the future of the Institute of Education Sciences at a time of “reimagining.” Earlier on Friday, my colleague Jenny Irons will take part in an invited session on funding opportunities for early-career researchers.
Invited Speaker Session: Early Career Research Fellowship and Funding Opportunities
Fri, April 10, 1:45 to 3:15pm PDT (4:45 to 6:15pm EDT), Los Angeles Convention Center, Floor: Level Two, Room 511C
George L. Wimberly. American Education Research Association, Chair
Jenny Irons, William T. Grant Foundation, Participant
Rhoda Freelon, Spencer Foundation, Participant
Jack Busbee, National Academy of Education, Participant
Invited Speaker Session: Reimagining the Institute of Education Sciences: Reflections and Perspectives from the Field
Fri, April 10, 3:45 to 5:15pm PDT (6:45 to 8:15pm EDT), Los Angeles Convention Center, Floor: Level Two, Room 406AB
Michal Kurlaender, University of California – Davis, Chair
Adam Gamoran, William T. Grant Foundation, Participant
Nicole Patton-Terry, Florida State University, Participant
Kristabel Stark, University of Vermont, Participant
Michelle Crosby, American Statistical Association, Participant
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In addition to our own sessions, we are excited about the many symposia and poster sessions that will surface insights about engaged scholarship through research-practice partnerships. At an uncertain moment for social research, and amid outright hostility toward much of what we do as a field, engaged research is one resilient strategy for creating positive change in policy, practice, and ultimately youth outcomes. By building trust and capacity and generating responses to issues on the ground, collaborative inquiry is a potent opportunity to demonstrate the practical value of research. At the same time, partnerships are anything but easy, so it’s important that we learn both from what has worked well and what hasn’t.
These sessions, all of which include grantee participation, will illuminate the benefits and challenges of engaged work, and we look forward to learning from each:
Structured Poster Session: Are There Stages to This? The Case For (and Against) Research-Practice Partnership Developmental Trajectories
Wed, April 8, 1:45 to 3:15pm PDT (4:45 to 6:15pm EDT), Los Angeles Convention Center, Floor: Level Two, Room 515A
Symposium: Learning from “failure”: Exploring challenges in unsuccessful research-practice partnerships
Fri, April 10, 9:45 to 11:15am PDT (12:45 to 2:15pm EDT), Westin Bonaventure, Floor: Lobby Level, Los Cerritos
Symposium: What Was, What’s Now, What’s Next: University-Based RPP Brokering in Shifting Institutional Contexts
Fri, April 10, 1:45 to 3:15pm PDT (4:45 to 6:15pm EDT), Westin Bonaventure, Floor: Lobby Level, Los Cerritos
Structured Poster Session: Making the Invisible Visible: Dynamics, Processes, and Outcomes of Research-Practice Partnerships
Sat, April 11, 1:45 to 3:15pm PDT (4:45 to 6:15pm EDT), Los Angeles Convention Center, Floor: Level Two, Room 515B
Symposium: Thriving in Context: Exploring Dimensions of Variation in Equity-Driven Partnership Research
Sun, April 12, 7:45 to 9:15am PDT (10:45am to 12:15pm EDT), InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, Floor: 5th Floor, Hancock Park West
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See you in Los Angeles!
