The upcoming transition in leadership at the Research Alliance coincides with our 15-year anniversary as an organization committed conducting research on questions that matter to stakeholders in New York City’s public schools. In that light, incoming Executive Director Cheri Fancsali and I have been reflecting on areas where we believe our work has had an impact—and on the strategic priorities that are most likely to enhance our impact and accelerate progress toward a better, more equitable public education system in New York City. In the coming weeks and months you will hear more from us about features of our work that exemplify our impact over the past 15 years and about our team’s vision for strengthening and extending that impact.

For now, however, I would like to convey my excitement about this next step in the Research Alliance's development. Cheri is ideally positioned to lead the organization. She has served on the Research Alliance’s leadership team for the last seven years, where she has overseen strategic planning and development and managed a range of high-profile studies, including our evaluation of the 10-year, $81 million Computer Science for All initiative and our analysis of NYC’s special education landscape. Cheri is well known for her work on school reform efforts, teacher professional development, STEM education, afterschool programming, and social and emotional learning. Prior to the Research Alliance, she held leadership positions at IMPAQ International and AED’s Center for School and Community Services.

It has been a privilege to work with the extraordinary team of colleagues and partners connected to the Research Alliance over the past 15 years. I look forward to continuing that work through special projects and helping to further develop our data archive.  

Please stay tuned for a series of notes from me and Cheri as we take stock of the work to date and lay out our vision for the future.

Sincerely,
James J. Kemple