Students & Alumni
POLS students are ambitious and action-oriented. They come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, including teaching, school systems leadership, business, education technology, and government. What they share is a desire to develop the skills and knowledge they need to be effective leaders.
POLS cohorts bring together small, diverse groups of students to widen each other’s view of leadership in various domains of education. Peer learning and support form a key component of the program, modeling the connectivity and collaboration crucial to education leadership. Moreover, POLS students graduate with a network of connections that extends beyond the program year.
Our students
Field project
Apathetic or Disengaged: Why are East Palo Alto Academy (EPAA) Students Not Participating in Enrichment Activities?
By Jeevaraj Suppiah and Joaquin-Emiliano Chavez
East Palo Alto Academy (EPAA) is a small public charter high school in the Sequoia Union High School District. For our 2023-2024 POLS Field Project, we aimed to identify why EPAA students failed to engage regularly with the school’s College and Career Center resources. Through our focus group ...
The Importance of Youth Voice and Civic Engagement: Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)
By Yesenia Aguilar
Civic engagement, as defined by Stanford University's Professor Thomas Ehrlich, encompasses efforts to improve community life through various processes, including both political and non-political actions. Despite a decline in civic education offerings in schools nationwide, alternative methods like ...
MEETING STUDENTS' WHOLE-CHILD NEEDS:SUPPORTING COMMUNITY SCHOOLS STRATEGIES WITH EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE
By Hellen Xavier Gomes de Souza
This report examines the implementation and effectiveness of community schools in California, New York, Maryland, and Florida, with a particular focus on strategic education governance and the role of community engagement in improving educational outcomes. The study utilizes the OECD Strategic ...
Life after POLS
POLS graduates are well prepared to lead in a wide range of roles and contexts. Alumni work in school and district settings, higher education, education philanthropies, corporate and educational recruiting, and government. Below are a few examples of positions held by POLS alumni.
Higher education
Assistant Dean of Students, Oberlin College
Native American Liaison, Stanford Undergraduate Admissions Office
Instructor, Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
K–12 leadership
Assistant Principal, Noble Network of Charter Schools
Literacy Coordinator, Harlem Children’s Zone
Academic Program Manager, Summit Public Schools
School networks, districts, government
Data Analyst, Boston Public Schools
Assistant Budget and Policy Analyst, State of Oregon
Legislative Assistant, United States Senate
Educational intermediaries and ed tech
Instructional Design Specialist, Coursera
Program Manager, Reading Partners
Education Analyst, Emerson Collective
The Graduate School of Education’s EdCareers office provides career education and counseling, job listings, career fairs and other resources to GSE students and alumni.
