Community Engagement
Powerful partnerships and collaborations are critical to Stanford Graduate School of Education’s research, teaching, and innovation missions. These community relationships take many forms: research practice partnerships, learning partnerships, service learning, and innovation collaborations.
Research practice partnerships (RPPs)
Research practice partnerships form a critical foundation for GSE research as well as the development and formation of education scholars. Our practice partners include educators, schools, districts, and community organizations, and together with Stanford researchers they shape practices and policies that maximize educational experiences for all learners.
San Francisco Unified School District
The Stanford-SFUSD partnership, formalized in 2009, supports and promotes innovative, practical research. It engages practitioners, policy makers, and academics in dialogue about research findings and implications for data-driven decision making, with the goal of advancing student achievement in San Francisco and beyond.
Stanford-Sequoia K–12 Research Collaborative
The Sequoia collaborative, formed in 2017, includes nine local school districts. Research focuses on supporting the long-term success of multilingual learners by identifying the conditions, resources, strategies, and practices that lead to positive outcomes.
Santa Clara Research Practice Learning Partnership
The Learning Differences Initiative at the Stanford Accelerator for Learning partners with Santa Clara Unified School District to design and develop more inclusive K–12 learning experiences for students with disabilities.
Certificate in Partnership Research
Stanford GSE offers a certificate program for doctoral and master’s students who want to ground their research methods in partnership work. Students complete a set of courses and practical experiences that deepens their understanding of relationship building and collaborative research design.
John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities
The Gardner Center partners with communities to research, develop, and disseminate effective practices and models for developing well-rounded young people. With a focus on the Bay Area, center staff and researchers bring community leaders together to share knowledge and implement quality programs.
Learning opportunities
The GSE and affiliated centers and organizations offer a variety of professional learning opportunities to educators, schools, and school systems. These offerings translate education research into practice, and can be customized to address the needs of our learning partners.
Stanford GSE Professional Learning Extension
The GSE offers a number of programs custom offerings for educators and school leaders. These research-based offerings focus on improving practice and making lasting system change.
Challenge Success
Challenge Success works with K–12 communities around the country to co-design supportive school climates that prioritize youth mental health and meaningful learning. In addition to these partnerships, it also offers workshops and conferences focused on student well-being, engagement, and belonging.
Service learning
Stanford University has a strong commitment to public service. Through the Haas Center for Public Service, the GSE helps create meaningful connections between students and the local community through service and learning partnerships.
Ravenswood Reads
Since 1986, Ravenswood Reads has connected Stanford students with K–2 school children with a focus on literacy skills. Through a unique partnership among the Haas Center, San Mateo County Library, and two local school districts, the program supports young learners while also grounding Stanford students in GSE course work.
Preschool Counts
Preschool Counts is a community-engaged learning program in which Stanford students engage with young children to develop math skills before kindergarten. Run by the Haas Center, the program combines GSE coursework with experience in a local preschool.
Innovation collaborations
Created in 2021, the Stanford Accelerator for Learning works to accelerate solutions to the most pressing challenges facing learners. Researchers from across Stanford collaborate with each other and external partners to co-create scalable and equitable solutions that help all learners thrive.
