High School Matters Editorial Team

Joseph R. Harris, Ph.D., is the Director of the National High School Center and a Managing Research Analyst for the American Institutes for Research. In addition to his extensive role in providing school improvement technical assistance at the federal, state, district and school levels, Dr. Harris has a strong background in STEM education reform as both a practitioner and researcher/evaluator, and more than two decades of experience as an administrator and high school teacher in an urban public school environment.

Jessica Agus is a Research Assistant at the American Institutes for Research.  She provides technical assistance, research, and resources around implementing Response to Intervention and high school improvement.  Jessica also has experience teaching middle school in Memphis, TN.

Makeda Amelga is a Research Assistant at the American Institutes for Research. She provides research and technical assistance support for two technical assistance centers, focusing in the areas of high school improvement and juvenile justice education advocacy.

Matthew Hauenstein is a Research Assistant at the American Institutes for Research.  His background includes research and technical assistance focusing on high school improvement and dropout prevention.

Amy Johnson is a Research Associate at the American Institutes for Research. Her background includes experience in research and technical assistance related to high school improvement and systems of care for child and family mental health, as well as online communication and dissemination strategies.

Megan Lebow is a Research Associate at the American Institutes for Research.  Her background includes research in the area of teacher effectiveness as well as experience teaching middle school in New York City.

Maggie Monrad is the Outreach Team Leader for the National High School Center and a Communications Specialist at the American Institutes for Research. Her background includes several years of experience in online and print communications, dissemination strategies, and social media, as well high school dropout prevention and arts education.

Becky Smerdon, Ph.D., is Founder and Managing Director of Quill Research Associates, LLC, and a nationally recognized expert in high school reform with numerous national conference presentations and publications in academic journals such as American Educational Research Journal, Sociology of Education, Teachers College Record, and Research in the Sociology of Education and Socialization. Her first book, Saving America’s High Schools, was published in 2009, and she is currently drafting her second book, High Schools for a Complex World, scheduled for release in 2011.

Circe Stumbo is President of West Wind Education Policy Inc. which she founded in 2001. As a content expert for West Wind, Circe advises clients in the areas of leadership and professional development, strategic planning, and policy, authors reports and policy briefs, and designs and facilitates meetings and conferences.

Note: This blog post was originally authored under the auspices of the National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The National High School Center’s blog, High School Matters, which ran until March 2013, provided an objective perspective on the latest research, issues, and events that affected high school improvement. The CCRS Center plans to continue relevant work originally developed under the National High School Center grant. National High School Center blog posts that pertain to CCRS Center issues are included on this website as a resource to our stakeholders.