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Liz Bettini

@lizbettini.bsky.social

I skeet about #Specialedteachers & #teacherworkingconditions, co-direct the @sparccenter.bsky.social & am affiliated w/ the awesome @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social here at @buwheelock.bsky.social (she/her)

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Joshua Goodman@joshua-goodman.com · 5d ago

Our education policy group at BU Wheelock is accepting PhD applications this cycle. I'm particularly excited about synergies with the economics department that allow our students to do "economics of education" coursework. Spread the word and e-mail me if you're interested in learning more.

Liz Bettini@lizbettini.bsky.social · 2w ago

WOOOHOOO, congrats Rosie & all! Super excited to see what you all learn 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉!

Rosie Miesner@mrosie.bsky.social · 2w ago

I am elated to share this collaboration between EPIC and the Frank Porter Graham Institute! Our project examines how contexts inform the experiences of special education teachers and shape outcomes for students with disabilities. Teachers' working conditions are students' learning conditions!

Joshua Goodman@joshua-goodman.com · 2w ago

🚨New working paper alert!🚨 Private tutoring chains like Kumon and Sylvan have grown rapidly. Who uses them? Do they improve kids' skills? BU econ PhD student Samuel Nitkin and I provide answers in: "Kumon Up: Private Tutoring Centers and Student Achievement" www.nber.org/papers/w35671 1/?

Private tutoring chains like Kumon and Sylvan have expanded rapidly in recent decades. Combining data on business locations, household spending, and district test scores, we study who uses these centers and how they affect academic skills. Nearly half of tutoring users are from the top income decile, with Asian and White households five and two times as likely to purchase tutoring as Black and Hispanic households. A staggered differences-in-differences design shows the opening of a district's first chain center raises district-wide math and reading scores by 0.02-0.03 standard deviations, at a much lower cost than public spending typically producing similar gains. Math effects are largest for White and Asian students, so that center entry widens racial achievement gaps, though less so in more racially integrated districts. These private investments help their users, deepen educational inequality, and shape outcomes by which state accountability systems and families judge schools.
Liz Bettini@lizbettini.bsky.social · 4w ago

Really excited to see this paper out in AERJ! Across seven state's SLDS, we document the nature of the challenges facing the special education teacher workforce.

SPARC Center@sparccenter.bsky.social · 4w ago

📢The American Educational Research Journal (AERJ) has published the findings from our first year of analysis. The paper explores the composition, distribution, and stability of the #SpecialEducation teacher workforce. Read here: doi.org/10.3102/0002...

Paper in American Educational Research Journal: "Composition, Distribution, and Stability of the Special Education Teacher Workforce in Seven States." The abstract reads: Special education staffing challenges threaten the delivery of effective special education services to students with disabilities. We investigated the composition, distribution, and stability of the special education teacher (SET) workforce over time and across seven states. Some challenges were similar across states, such as trends in SET workforce stability over time, whereas other challenges (e.g., SET certification rates) varied considerably by state. Staffing challenges also varied within some states, contributing to considerable inequity in SET stability and in the distribution of novice SETs, SETs without full certification, and SETs of color. These findings suggest a need for policies and practices that vary by state context and target the districts and schools most affected by SET staffing challenges.
Aaron Ainsworth@ajainsworth.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Excited to see our study on four-day school weeks and teacher retention out at Education Finance & Policy! Using 18 years of data from Oregon, we find that switching to a four-day week actually increased teacher turnover by about 2 percentage points. direct.mit.edu/edfp/article... 1/4

Less Is More? The Causal Effect of Four-Day School Weeks on Teacher Turnover

Abstract. The use of four-day school weeks (4dsw) in the United States has expanded rapidly over the past two decades. Previous work examines the impact of 4dsw on student outcomes, but less research ...

direct.mit.edu

jenn-ash-ed-policy.bsky.social@jenn-ash-ed-policy.bsky.social · 4mo ago

WEPC is hiring a Research Scientist to lead quantitative research on Connecticut's educator workforce! 📍 Boston-based (with WFH flexibility) 💰 $85–100K 🗓️ Starts Summer/Fall 2026 If we've worked together before and you're interested, feel free to reach out! #EducationPolicy #Hiring #EdResearch

Wheelock Educational Policy Center@wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social · 4mo ago

WEPC is hiring a Research Scientist to lead quantitative research on Connecticut's educator workforce! Boston-based, $85-100K, starts Summer/Fall 2026. Learn more below and apply by sending a letter of interest + CV to wheelockpolicy@bu.edu.

Nick Ainsworth@nick-ainsworth.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Very thoughtful coverage of our work on family income and disability identification in K-12 schools by Kevin Mahnken in @the74.bsky.social. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Check out the piece below! www.the74million.org/article/weal...

Wealthy Students More Likely to Get Disability Accommodations, Study Finds

Section 504 plans are one of the most important sources of disability services in schools. Why are well-off families their biggest beneficiaries?

the74million.org

Liz Bettini@lizbettini.bsky.social · 4mo ago

One of the greatest joys of this job is getting to learn from amazing educators. Every week, I talk to or observe at lease one teacher or admin who is just ROCKING out doing great work with kids. It gives me so much hope & energy for the future of our field!!