PRINCIPAL Researcher, SRI Education
With more than 20 years of experience as an education researcher, Lauren Cassidy leads mixed-methods studies of initiatives to improve teaching quality, school and district leadership capacity, and college and career readiness. Cassidy has expertise in qualitative data collection and analysis and in writing for diverse audiences.
At SRI, Cassidy’s research on teaching quality focuses on supports for preservice and beginning teachers as well as ongoing, embedded coaching for teachers at all stages of the profession. She is co-principal investigator of the evaluation of Digital Promise’s federal Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant to implement iCoachTEAM, which supports math teachers in using technology for students’ conceptual understanding and formative assessment. Cassidy also led a study of New Leadership Relay, an initiative designed to build leadership capacity in New York City. She also has extensive experience studying early literacy and secondary writing instruction and is currently examining professional learning for K–5 literacy teachers in a network of districts funded by the Schusterman Family Philanthropies.
Cassidy’s college and career readiness work focuses on efforts to help students historically underrepresented in postsecondary education transition to college and to improve alignment between high school career and technical education (CTE) programs and local workforce demand. She is project director for the evaluation of the Barr Foundation’s Engage New England Initiative, which supports the development of innovative programs to serve students who are off track to graduate from high school. Cassidy is also qualitative lead for a study of career development opportunities in Los Angeles Unified School District; this work is part of the CTE Research Network 2.0, which aims to expand the number of rigorous CTE studies. Previously, Cassidy led the Statewide Evaluation of Career and Technical Education, which supported CTE program monitoring and improvement efforts in Texas. She was also deputy director of the evaluation of the Early College High School Initiative, funded by the Gates Foundation, which examined the impact of early college high schools on students’ postsecondary enrollment and persistence.
Cassidy earned her MA in English, with a concentration in professional writing and editing, from George Mason University and her BS in communication studies and English from Northwestern University.
Key projects
- Study of New Leadership Relay for New York City
- Evaluation of the iCoachTEAM EIR Grant
- Evaluation of the Engage New England Initiative
- Study of the Urban District Literacy Collaborative
- Evaluation of the New Teacher Center EIR Grant for Instructional Coaching
Recent publications
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Voices for Change: Parent Leadership & Advocacy at Rocketship Public Schools
This brief shares strategies Rocketship Public Schools has used to engage parents and support them in advocating for solutions to community needs.
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Transforming High Schools to Serve Students Who Are Off Track to Graduate: Lessons Learned from the Engage New England Initiative
This brief presents lessons learned about school transformation from the Barr Foundation’s Engage New England initiative, an effort to catalyze high school innovation by developing exemplary schools that support the…
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Study of the Engage New England Initiative Cross-Site Learning Brief 4: Early Insights from Academic Case Conferencing
The Barr Foundation launched the Engage New England Initiative in 2017 to support the development of innovative schools to serve students who are off track to graduate from high school.
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Designing Schools with and for Students: Lessons Learned from the Engage New England Initiative
This research brief identifies promising strategies for embracing student voice in school design based on the experience of Engage New England (ENE) grantees.
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Study of the Engage New England Initiative Cross-Site Learning Brief 3: Improving Instructional Systems
This brief examines the efforts of schools participating in the Barr Foundation’s Engage New England Initiative to improve the instructional systems for students who are off track to graduate high…
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Study of the Engage New England initiative cross-site learning brief 1
This brief is designed to benefit all three cohorts of ENE grantees as they plan and build their schools and to highlight key elements of planning for innovative school models.