About the RESTART Network

The Research on Education Strategies to Advance Recovery and Turnaround (RESTART) Network focuses on identifying and disseminating evidence-based strategies aligned with the needs of policymakers, leaders and educators who are serving and supporting accelerated student recovery efforts. The network also identifies critical needs of the field and supports the research community in developing coherent and coordinated research strategies that build evidence for practices that ensure student recovery – especially among students who have disproportionately struggled in the pandemic context. The RESTART Network will achieve this by need sensing, synthesizing evidence, and building a community that makes meaningful connections between the research community and policymakers, leaders, and educators.

 

The network seeks to assist PreK-12 public school systems in their recovery efforts and to inform broader research and practice, by:

  • Elevating emerging issues and priorities in the field through conducting needs assessments of to examine the evolving needs and share these with the research community.
  • Identifying, sharing and amplifying evidence-based strategies that respond to the needs of the students and schools.
  • Providing actionable guidance and recommendations that can be easily implemented across different schools and are customized based on need.
  • Creating digital tools that school leaders and educators can use to adapt to their circumstances.
  • Serving as a clearinghouse for the recovery efforts underway at organizations around the country.
  • Connecting researchers and building consensus through convenings and solutions working groups that address challenges to conducting research in the pandemic context.
  • Empowering research teams to build studies that align with needs in the field by coordinating with policymakers, leaders, educators and other members of the research community.
  • Supporting engagement and preparation of early career researchers through trainings.

Network Lead

AMERICAN INSTITUTES FOR RESEARCH

The American Institutes for Research (AIR) serves as the network lead for the RESTART Network. As the network lead, AIR facilitates the collaborative activities of the research teams by organizing convenings, overseeing solutions working groups, and more. AIR also is conducting research activities to complement the studies and is working to ensure the teams’ findings reach policymakers, school leaders, and educators.

Network Lead Team

Susan Therriault
Susan Bowles Therriault
Principal Investigator
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Sushmita Subedi
Sushmita Subedi
Project Director
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Lyzz Davis
Elisabeth Davis
Scan and Synthesis Lead
Kylie Klein
Kylie Klein
Recovery Efforts Network Lead
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Laura Checovich
Laura Checovich
Communications Lead
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Advisory Board

Layla Bonnot
Layla Bonnot
Senior Project Manager, Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)
Paolo DeMaria
Paolo DeMaria
President and Chief Executive Officer, National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE)
Seth Gerson
Seth Gerson
Education Program Director, National Governors Association (NGA)
Noelle Ellerson Ng
Noelle Ellerson Ng
Associate Executive Director for Advocacy and Governance, The School Superintendent’s Association (AASA)
Akisha Osei Sarfo
Akisha Osei Sarfo
Director of Research, Council of Great City Schools (CGCS)
Karen VanAusdal
Karen VanAusdal
Vice President of Practice and Programs, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
Greg Waples
Greg Waples
Senior Manager of State Engagement and Outreach, National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)