Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies

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

Alisa Chen headshot
Alisa Chen
Class: 2025
Areas of interest: K-12 Experiential Education, Social Emotional Wellbeing, Career and College Readiness, Garden Education, Social Infrastructure, Systems Change, Community-Based Partnerships, Equity in Education
Sarah Turobiner headshot
Sarah Turobiner
Class: 2025
Areas of interest: Education Policy, Education Technology (EdTech), Advocacy and Policy Analysis for Learning Disabilities, AI Literacy and Innovation in Education, Postsecondary Access, Education Entrepreneurship
Briana Jocelyn headshot
Briana Jocelyn
Class: 2025
Areas of interest: K-12 Education, Policy Implementation, Workforce Retention, Professional Development, Teacher and Leader Coaching, Research-Practice Partnerships
Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca headshot
Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca
Class: 2025
Areas of interest: Educational Equity, Postsecondary Access and Success, Higher Education Policy, Professional Development, Dreamers, Dream Act, DACA, Public Service, Department of Education, First-generation College Student, Diversity and Inclusion, Qualitative Research Methods (Ethnography, YPAR), Philanthropy, Civic Education, Leadership, School Change, Lifelong Learner

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Field project

Facing the Challenge of Hate SpeechPolicy Considerations from a Bay Area High School

By Antonio Hernandez and Jared Bynum

We built upon the work of a Bay Area High School to address hate speech on their campus. We supported their efforts by analyzing the implementation of the policy. Through interviews and observations, we identified possible elements for disrupting hate speech and provided a framework for ...

POLS Program Report

By Tim Morris

The school of study is an Advanced Bridge into Health, Life Sciences, and other STEM-aligned fields, with. The Hub is in its second year and serves 50 high school students who travel to Mission Bay for half of their school day. As part of my 2023-2024 POLS Field Project I conducted a qualitative ...

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 ...

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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. 

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