Mentoring and Counseling Interventions
Embedded Analysts
The Education Lab provides technical assistance to support Chicago Public Schools in using data analysis to answer key questions and guide daily decisions.
Challenge
In today’s challenging budget climate, the Education Lab’s nonprofit and public sector partners strive to provide the same level of service delivery with less funding. Consequently, many agencies have been forced to cut research and analysis positions that enable data-driven decision-making–yet research, analysis, and data-driven strategy development are exactly what these agencies need to meet the challenges they face most effectively.
Opportunity
To support our partners at Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the Education Lab routinely embeds research staff in the CPS central office to assist in day-to-day project execution, strategic analysis, and research development and design.
Project overview
Since its inception, the Education Lab has provided pro bono technical assistance to government agencies and nonprofits, offering crucial support to agencies and organizations needing more capacity or staff to meet their research and data needs. This model became especially important following the COVID-19 pandemic when Chicago Public Schools was beginning to understand the pandemic’s academic, mental health, and community impacts. With the return to in-person instruction, the Education Lab’s embedded analysts have provided the capacity to support data-driven decision-making for effective and equitable resourcing and policy.
This support strengthens relationships with CPS by bringing new perspectives to old problems and facilitating work across city agencies. It also builds human capital by developing the capacity of the Education Lab staff and staff at CPS. By placing highly motivated and talented research and technical staff in city agencies, the Education Lab aims to offer direct and immediate service to our city.
Years Active
2018 – present
Topics
Project Leads
Abigail Evans
Embedded Analyst
Luke Karner
Senior Embedded Analyst
Leigh Anne Larsen
Embedded Analyst
Scaling Promising Practices in Youth Mentoring
This case study by Results for America highlights the Crime Lab and Education Lab’s role in the City of Chicago’s bold initiative to expand the evidence-based Becoming a Man group mentoring model to serve thousands of young men.
Randomized evaluation of a school-based, trauma-informed group intervention for young women in Chicago
Science Advances journal publication.
Working on Womanhood Research Brief
Research brief for the Working on Womanhood project.
Seizing the Opportunity to Advance Education Equity
2021 Education Lab report on barriers to education faced by CPS students.