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Lisa Chu

Research Analyst

Background

Lisa Chu is a research analyst at the Center on Reinventing Public Education. She previously served as the Paul T. Hill Policy Fellow during her graduate studies. Prior to joining CRPE, Lisa worked for Project Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization that helps school administrators evaluate and develop student programs. Lisa holds a BA in Economics and Sociology from the University of California, Irvine, and an MPA from the University of Washington.

lisa.chu@asu.edu
Research Areas

Publications

Launching districtwide innovation: Lessons learned from a year of pursuing “Bold Ideas” for systemic change

What does it really take to pilot bold, systemwide innovation in public education? Over the 2023–24 school year, CRPE partnered with 11 districts across the...
Lydia Rainey
Principal
Michael Berardino
Senior Research Analyst
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Bree Dusseault
Principal and Managing Director
Steven Weiner
Senior Research Analyst

Running fast but not getting far: Five years of studying the pandemic’s impact on education

This report distills five years of research to understand how the pandemic reshaped public education. Drawing from over 100 reports and articles, we examine the...
Lydia Rainey
Principal
Paul Hill
Founder, CRPE
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Daniel Silver
Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for Applied Research in Education

A “good life” after high school: How schools can help students prepare

Today’s students are struggling after they leave the K-12 system: fewer students are enrolling in college, and more of those who enroll are floundering and...
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Heather Casimere
Research Analyst Assistant

“So hard, but so rewarding:” How school system leaders are scaling up strategic school staffing models

Innovative staffing models are promising, but challenging to scale up. What does the work of leading strategic staffing involve, and what could make scaling up...
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Lydia Rainey
Principal
Steven Weiner
Senior Research Analyst

Interconnected problems, interconnected strategies: Using “strategy braiding” to address teacher workforce challenges

This blog is part of a three-part series on school systems that have been implementing workforce innovations or strategic staffing solutions for several years. The...
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Lydia Rainey
Principal
Steven Weiner
Senior Research Analyst

Crossing the chasm: How one district is moving its innovative staffing model from pilot to mainstream

This blog is part of our series profiling three school systems several years into implementing workforce innovations or strategic staffing solutions. Scaling up innovations within...
Steven Weiner
Senior Research Analyst
Lydia Rainey
Principal
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst

Breaking the teaching mold—with help from the teachers union

This blog is part of a three-part series profiling school systems that have been implementing workforce innovations or strategic school staffing models for several years....
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Lydia Rainey
Principal
Steven Weiner
Senior Research Analyst

Innovation spotlights: Case studies in high school redesign

Educators nationwide are forging their way in a landscape rocked by pandemic-induced disruptions. Training resources designed to spark new thinking among school staff often feel...
Chelsea Waite
Principal
Cara Pangelinan
Research Analyst
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Maddy Sims
Center for Public Research and Leadership
Naureen Madhani
Director of Research Strategy and Consulting, CPRL
Heather Casimere
Research Analyst Assistant
Julia Skwarczynski
Guest Author
Joanna Pisacone
Guest Author

Innovation in New England

CRPE partnered with The BARR Foundation to map the New England region’s landscape of learning.
Cara Pangelinan
Research Analyst
Chelsea Waite
Principal
Christine Pitts
Senior Policy Fellow
Sarah McCann
Senior Project Manager
Heather Casimere
Research Analyst Assistant
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst

Despite staff shortages, few districts are making teaching more appealing

The exact cause of teacher shortages is still up for debate. Some experts argue that shortages are localized, while others say that the lack of...
Lydia Rainey
Principal
Bree Dusseault
Principal and Managing Director
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst

With better policies – and a little help – career-relevant education can move from the exception to the rule in schools

Administrators from eight districts who nurtured new learning options reflect on what worked – and what’s still needed.
Steven Weiner
Senior Research Analyst
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst

How 100 large and urban districts are attracting and retaining staff

As part of CRPE’s ongoing review of how large districts are responding to the pandemic and planning to spend their federal COVID-19 relief dollars, we...
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Chelsey Shen
Junior Research Intern

Analysis: New England districts’ plans for spending federal relief funds

Our analysis reveals dozens of New England districts’ federal spending priorities as they move forward with pandemic recovery.
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Cara Pangelinan
Research Analyst

Voice and choice: New England students highlight which pandemic-era changes should stay—and which should go

Research on the pandemic’s negative impact on student learning, peer-to-peer relationships, and teenagers’ mental health makes it easy to assume high schoolers are eager to...
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Maddy Sims
Center for Public Research and Leadership

Many districts are doing less this summer to make up for lost learning

Even after an additional year to plan and more federal recovery dollars available, districts’ 2022 summer programs are mostly the same as last year.
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Christine Pitts
Senior Policy Fellow

Data From 100 Large Urban Districts Show Half Facing Shortages in Key Positions. Fixing That Will Mean Rethinking Teaching & Working in Schools

Our analysis of district information and local media reports finds 93 of 100 large and urban districts have mentioned staffing shortages in the 2021-22 school year.
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Bree Dusseault
Principal and Managing Director

Student Support That Meets the Moment: The Need for Clarity and Rigor in SEL

As stress and disruption have intensified for students over the past two years due to the pandemic, so has interest in and spending on social-emotional...
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Michael DeArmond
Principal

How districts can get serious about career-relevant learning, even in the midst of a pandemic

To be successful, new career pathways must include strategies for overcoming hard-wired habits, schedules, outcome metrics, and course offerings all focused on college prep.
Steven Weiner
Senior Research Analyst
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst

What schools can learn from learning pods about supporting effective teacher-student relationships

When schools closed down last spring, some parents and educators responded by forming “pandemic pods,” or small groups of students who came together outside of...
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst

Approaching SEL as a Whole-School Effort, Not an Add-On: Lessons from Two Charter Networks

This paper highlights the approach that two innovative charter networks took last year to address student well-being and social-emotional development.
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst
Michael DeArmond
Principal
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