INTERNS & SCHOLARS

Becca Bier (ITP, MEP 4K project), graduate student in sociology.

Since 2021, Becca has collaborated with MMSD's Department of Early Learning and Research and Innovation on an evaluation of the district's full-day 4-year-old Kindergarten (4K) program. The two-year evaluation assesses student skill gains in early literacy, numeracy, and executive function in full-day classrooms relative to half-day classrooms. Becca has also worked with the district on a project exploring peer networks in 4K classrooms.

Kat Swerbenski, (ITP, working with R&I climate team) graduate student in psychology.

Kat works with the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) to evaluate how school belonging and climate are being assessed within the district. She has also been interviewing students about what school belonging means to them. This project hopes to help the district gain a better understanding of what facilitates a sense of belonging among their students.

Tory Jay, (ITP, working with Patti), graduate student in psychology.

Tori is observing classroom lessons, interviewing teachers, and reviewing curriculum to understand the barriers to and affordances for supporting conceptual knowledge of mathematics in MMSD middle school algebra and algebra-readiness classes. This work will help the district identify curricular supports and professional development opportunities to support teachers in promoting student conceptual knowledge in the classroom.

Tory Ash, (ITP, working with Lachele), graduate student in psychology.

Tory Ash is currently working as an intern in the department of professional learning within the Madison Metropolitan School District. She is particularly interested in the evaluation of equity-focused initiatives within the district.

Victor Feagins, (ITP, new project), graduate student in quantitative methods.

Victor is currently working with the Research, Assessment, and Improvement Department to improve dashboards and streamline reporting to the board of education (BOE).

Alex Latham, (ITP, new project), graduate student in school psychology.

Alex is currently working with the Research, Assessment, and Improvement Department to evaluate early screeners for risk of literacy challenges. Specifically, we are investigating how accurately brief Spanish and English reading assessments can predict important outcomes like Forward Exam Performance. Accurately predicting outcomes like this as early as possible can help identify students who would benefit from some additional instruction before significant challenges emerge.

Since 2021, Rebecca Bier, graduate student in sociology, is conducting a second year of the evaluation of MMSD's full-day 4K program under the direction of Eric Grodsky and in partnership with the Department of Early Learning. The evaluation follows some students into 5K and continues to understand how full-day 4K affects student learning in literacy, math, executive functioning, and socio-emotional skills, relative to half-day 4K.

Tory Jay, graduate student in psychology, is observing classroom lessons, interviewing teachers, and reviewing curriculum to understand the barriers to and affordances for supporting conceptual knowledge of mathematics in MMSD middle school algebra and algebra-readiness classes. This work will help the district identify curricular supports and professional development opportunities to support teachers in promoting student conceptual knowledge in the classroom.

Julia Porter, graduate student in school psychology, is conducting a study to examine the feasibility of implementing a school engagement and school dropout intervention program with 9th grade students at East High School. This work aligns with the district’s prioritization of 9th grade student engagement and will help the district continue to support 9th grade students at risk for school dropout.

Kat Swerbenski, graduate student in psychology, is conducting an evaluation of the psychometric properties of the current student climate survey used in MMSD. Additionally, she is conducting qualitative interviews with MMSD students on what school belonging means to them. This work will help the district better understand how best to assess students' perceptions of school climate and feelings of school belonging.

Alex Viegut, graduate student in educational psychology, is conducting a survey to investigate elementary teacher’s perspectives on teaching math with multiple strategies and visual models. MMSD recently adopted a new K-5 math curriculum, and this work will help the district continue to support math teaching in elementary schools.

Elizabeth Premo, graduate student in social work, developed a review and comparison of literature assessments for 4K students. Her research topic was designed in response to the district’s need for an overview of options for 4K literature assessments.

Garret Hall, graduate student in educational psychology, conducted a year-long observational study looking at how 4K teachers build early numeracy skills, with particular attention to English language learners.

Emmie Mirus worked on two qualitative studies, concerning ways to mitigate the impact of socioeconomic status on academic achievement. She assisted in translating, transcribing, coding, and analyzing data.