The Research Alliance for New York City Schools

Announcements

This snapshot captures attendees of NYU Metro Center's 2025 Equity Conference. The attendees make up the audience for breakout sessions.. Th photo captures more thn 12 individual in the breakout session. The image itself is centered around3 figures un the frount row. The figure on the lleft wears a black blazer. She also has long red hair. The figure inthe middle wears a white toop and sports lon black braids. This inidivual also has items in her lap to take notes during the session. Lastly, the indidual t

Come See Us at AERA and AEFP!

The Research Alliance will be sharing new work at two major national conferences this spring. Join us at AEFP in Chicago and AERA in Los Angeles, where our team will present research on teacher diversity, culturally responsive computer science education, digital learning, and college and career advising.
One person stands at a podium. Six panel members sit and applaud. Behind them, a screen reads, “Weaving Stronger Networks of Support.”

Research Alliance 2025 Year in Review

In a challenging year for education, the Research Alliance continued to produce rigorous, relevant evidence that informed decisions throughout the NYC public school system. As the year draws to a close, we're reflecting on our collective accomplishments and the collaborative relationships that will sustain us in the year ahead.
Smiling teenage boy having a work video call

Career-Connected Learning in NYC

How can research help shape the future of Career-Connected Learning in NYC? This article examines emerging evidence, recent policy shifts, and what the new Mayoral administration can do to strengthen one of the nation’s most ambitious CCL systems.
Teacher in face mask leading a classroom of young children in front of a TV projector displaying a slide with a video entitled "Pause & Think Online." The children and teacher have their hands on their heads in what seems to be a game or physical exercise. The children have their backs to the viewer.

Learning from NYC’s Expansive CS4All Initiative

Between 2016 and 2024, the Research Alliance conducted an in-depth evaluation of New York City’s Computer Science for All (CS4All) initiative. The study highlighted both successes and challenges, providing crucial information that district leaders used to refine the initiative over time. Read more.
Weaving Stronger Networks of Support

Weaving Stronger Networks of Support

On June 26th, 2025, the Research Alliance convened a diverse group of educators, scholars, City and district leaders and nonprofit partners to discuss strategies for collaborating more effectively on behalf of NYC youth. The event highlighted two initiatives, Every Child and Family is Known and CUNY CARES, and surfaced important challenges, opportunities, and new directions for both policy and research.
Education in New York Summit. Shaping Tomorrow's Schools Through Innovation. August 14, 2025, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, hosted by City & State New York.

Spreading the Word: Education in New York Summit (8/14)

The Education in New York Summit brings together top education leaders—including NYC Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos and NYS Commissioner Dr. Betty Rosa—for a day of timely dialogue on equity, innovation, and student success.
Suspended Futures: Transforming Racial Inequities in School Discipline

Affiliate Highlight: New Book from Richard Welsh on Transforming School Discipline

Explore the latest work from Dr. Richard Welsh, whose new book, Suspended Futures, offers insights into racial disparities in school discipline and potential solutions. Drawing on evidence from NYC public schools, Welsh outlines a framework for reform aimed at improving school climate and creating more inclusive learning environments.
Image captures the a seated conference audience. The photo centers around two audiences members sitting together.. Nearest the camera lens, is a man wearing a blue suit, as he applauds. Next to him, is Black Woman who is in conversation with the man in the blue suit.

New Work from Research Alliance Affiliates

These studies from Research Alliance affiliates offer critical insights into families’ perceptions of school safety, police intervention in schools, teacher retention, the role of racial attitudes in school choice, and factors that shape school disciplinary practices. Explore how these studies are informing conversations around educational equity and improving student outcomes in New York City and beyond.
The Framework for Measuring Equity in Educational Opportunities examines how various factors shape students’ access to quality learning environments across four key areas. It first considers differences between schools, recognizing that some schools have more resources and opportunities than others. This section explores whether students from diverse backgrounds have equitable access to well-funded, high-opportunity schools. Next, it examines disparities within schools, highlighting how access to experien

New Work Highlights the Importance of Measuring Educational Equity

Two new spotlights emphasize the critical need to measure equity in public education. The analyses reveal disparities in key high school outcomes and opportunities, and provide insights that can inform a more effective and equitable educational landscape for all students.
Person Journaling

Research Alliance 2024 Year in Review

2024 at the Research Alliance saw ongoing and growing collaboration, findings that actively informed education policy and practice, and the launch of critically important new lines of work. Here are a few highlights from our year.
Inside a school corridor

From the Vault: ESI Practice Guides

The Expanded Success Initiative (ESI) was aimed at improving college and career readiness among Black and Latino male students in 40 NYC high schools. As part of our larger evaluation, the Research Alliance developed a set of practice guides that provided concrete examples of how ESI schools were attempting to better support their young men of color, including resources, discussion questions for educators, and insights from students and teachers that remain highly relevant today.
Council Member Nantasha Williams speaks to a group of experts gathered in Pless Hall.

Research Alliance 2023 Year in Review

2023 saw transitions in leadership at the Research Alliance, ongoing collaboration, and the dissemination of important findings from some of our major projects. Here are a few highlights from our year.
Cheri Fancsali

Research Alliance Presents at AERA 2023 Virtual Symposium

On May 4th, Deputy Director Cheri Fancsali will serve as Chair of the AERA virtual symposium, The Multiple Dimensions of Equity: Exploring a Computer Science for All Initiative Through Different Lenses, alongside June Mark from the Education Development Center.
Five students stand side by side, smiling. They are each wearing a sweatshirt from different colleges and universities.

New Report From #DegreesNYC

#DegreesNYC published a new report on January 17th, 2022, Changing the Odds, that builds on data analysis provided by the Research Alliance for NYC Schools.
Photo is a screenshot of a video titled "Am I My Brother's Keeper: Improving the Educational Experiences and Outcomes of Black and Latinx Males"

New Book Highlights Key Lessons from NYC’s Expanded Success Initiative

Adriana Villavicencio’s new book, Am I My Brother’s Keeper?, offers powerful insights into the challenges of implementing large-scale educational change. Drawing on the Research Alliance’s four-year study of the Expanded Success Initiative (ESI), which aimed to improve the educational outcomes of 15,000 Black and Latinx males in NYC public high schools, the book examines what worked, what didn’t, and what we can learn from the experience.
Students in Classroom

Reflecting on 2020 at the Research Alliance

This has been a year like no other for schools and communities in New York City and across the country. Amid the most devastating pandemic in recent history, our nation also struggled to heal wounds from a painful and oppressive legacy of racism. At the Research Alliance for New York City Schools, as in many organizations, these events motivated us to reflect more deeply on our mission, our capacities, and our role in advancing a more just society.
Students collaborating on project

Research Alliance Alumni Author New Article on Teacher Collaboration

Former Research Alliance Deputy Director Adriana Villavicencio and former Research Associate Sarah Klevan, together with Montclair State University’s Reva Jaffe-Walter, authored a new paper, “You can’t close your door here: Leveraging Teacher Collaboration to Improve Outcomes for Immigrant English Learners," in the January 2021 issue of Teaching and Teacher Education. In their paper, they examine teacher collaboration and its role in improving outcomes for English Learners (ELs).

Dez-Ann Romain

The Research Alliance Mourns the Passing of Brooklyn Principal Dez-Ann Romain

The Research Alliance team was devastated to learn of the passing of Dez-Ann Romain, Principal of Brooklyn Democracy Academy, due to complications from the coronavirus. In 2018, we had the privilege of working with Principal Romain on an event that explored the experiences of students who struggle to graduate but remain enrolled in school.
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A Covid-19 Update from the Research Alliance for NYC Schools

As Covid-19 disrupts the lives of 57 million students around the United States—1.1 million of whom live in New York City—the Research Alliance is working to balance the demands of our ongoing projects with changes that are necessary to protect public health.