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Maddy Sims

Senior Fellow, CRPE

Background

Maddy Sims is a Senior Fellow at the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), where she leads projects focused on studying and strengthening equity-driven innovation in education. Prior to CRPE, she served as a Director at Columbia University’s Center for Public Research and Leadership, where she supported school districts, state education departments, non-profits, and foundations in developing and implementing strategies to transform schools into adaptive, student-centered organizations. Maddy previously practiced law at Davis, Polk & Wardwell LLP. Her work on education policy has been published in the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems, the Columbia Human Rights Law Review, and featured in outlets such as The 74. Maddy holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

msims124@asu.edu
Research Areas

Publications

The Transformation Gap: Why Motivated District Leaders Pursue Incremental Change

School districts are struggling to create both equitable and fundamentally different outcomes for young people through incremental improvements. The alternative is transformational systems change, when...
Chelsea Waite
Principal, CRPE
Michael Berardino
Senior Research Analyst, CRPE
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE

Reimagining Learning for the Age of AI: Visions from CRPE’s Think Forward Fellows

Will AI reinforce existing models of schooling, or will it help us build learning environments that center purpose, relationships, and real-world contributions? This is the...
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE
Dacia Toll
Co-CEO, Coursemojo
Cameron White
Senior Partner, NewSchools Venture Fund
Mike Taubman
Teacher, Program Director, and AI Innovation Lead, Uncommon Schools
Ila Deshmukh Towery
Partner, Education First
D'Andre Weaver, PhD
Vice President and Chief Powerful Learning Officer, Digital Promise
Adam Garry
President, StrategicEDU Consulting
Scott Bess
President & CEO, Indiana Charter Innovation Center
Sunanna Chand
Executive Director, The Reinvention Lab at Teach For America

The Debate over AI in Education Is Stuck. Let’s Move It Forward in Responsible Ways That Truly Serve Students

Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how we work, communicate, and create. In education, however, the conversation is stuck. Sensational headlines make it seem like AI...
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE

Think Forward: Building a Coherent Approach to AI in Education

In November 2025, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) convened a diverse group of policymakers, system leaders, educators, researchers, funders, and technology experts for...
Robin Lake
Director, CRPE
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE
Bree Dusseault
Principal and Managing Director, CRPE

Announcing CRPE’s Inaugural Think Forward Fellowship Cohort

The Center on Reinventing Public Education has announced its inaugural AI Fellowship Cohort, a group of visionary policymakers, system leaders, educators, researchers, funders, and tech...
Robin Lake
Director, CRPE
Bree Dusseault
Principal and Managing Director, CRPE
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE

Beyond the Headlines: What Civics Education Looks Like Right Now

As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday in 2026, debates over democracy, rights, and free speech dominate headlines. At the same time,...
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE
Lydia Rainey
Principal, CRPE
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst, CRPE

What Counts as Civics? A Look at How Districts Define and Facilitate Civic Learning

A new report from the American School District Panel, a research partnership between RAND and CRPE, examines how districts define and facilitate civic learning in...
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst, CRPE
AK Keskin
Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND
Lydia Rainey
Principal, CRPE
Melissa Kay Diliberti
Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation

AI Early Adopter Districts: The Promises and Challenges of Using AI to Transform Education

Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how school districts plan instruction, support teachers, and engage students. AI has the potential to transform the education delivery model...
Bree Dusseault
Principal and Managing Director, CRPE
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE
Michael Berardino
Senior Research Analyst, CRPE

A “Good Life” for Every Student: High Schools Embrace Many Pathways to Success

CRPE & CPRL hosted a webinar on this report with the co-authors and report stakeholders. Check it out! https://youtu.be/z60wtyyXw_g Can the lessons schools learned in...
Chelsea Waite
Principal, CRPE
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE

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, CRPE
Cara Pangelinan
Research Analyst
Lisa Chu
Research Analyst, CRPE
Naureen Madhani
Director of Research Strategy and Consulting, CPRL
Heather Casimere
Research Analyst Assistant, CRPE
Julia Skwarczynski
Guest Author
Joanna Pisacone
Guest Author
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE

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, CRPE
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE

Systems upgrade: Central offices join the tech revolution

The COVID-19 pandemic forced decades of technological innovation on schools in the span of one year. As classes moved fully online and into hybrid modalities,...
Elizabeth Chu
Executive Director, Columbia University Center for Public Research and Leadership
Maddy Sims
Senior Fellow, CRPE
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