Grant, State Superintendent of Education for Washington, D.C., will bring together academic researchers and system leaders.
(March 11, 2024) — Dr. Christina Grant — an education leader who successfully implemented evidence-based research in some of the country’s largest school systems — will become the new executive director for the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University.
As executive director, Grant will bridge the gap between the world of academic research and system leaders.
“The type of rigorous and practical research that CEPR specializes in has always guided my work as an educator and leader,” Grant said. “I am excited to build more partnerships with state leaders and school systems that design research and advance educational solutions that can move the needle for children nationwide.”
Grant joins CEPR from Washington, D.C., where she has served as State Superintendent of Education since 2021. There, her office oversaw policy, federal/local grants, standards, assessments, and accountability for the District’s entire education system. Grant will begin transitioning into her CEPR role throughout the spring, beginning full-time after she completes her responsibilities with the District.
Grant began her career as a public school teacher in Harlem. She has since served in numerous positions including Superintendent of the Great Oaks Foundation, Deputy Executive Director at the New York City Department of Education, Managing Director of New Site Development for Teach For America, and the Chief of Charter Schools and Innovation for The School District of Philadelphia.
Grant’s appointment marks a new chapter for CEPR, said CEPR Faculty Director Thomas Kane.
“With Dr. Grant’s leadership, we will help the decision-makers in education begin to test their ideas—evaluating curricula, tutoring programs, absenteeism reduction, and more.” Kane said. “No reform idea in vogue today will make a bigger difference 20 years from now than making the systematic testing of any reform proposal a habit and an expectation—as well as a moral obligation to students.”
Grant has dedicated her career to expanding educational opportunities for learners from every background in her work as a teacher, administrator, and executive. Each step of the way, she has sought to advance equity and inclusiveness, seeing these principles as the foundation for transforming education and society.
Unlike medicine and other fields, the education sector has not yet fully embraced gathering evidence and rigorously evaluating new approaches for efficacy, said Dr. John B. King, Jr., Chancellor of the State University of New York, former U.S. Secretary of Education, and member of the CEPR advisory board. Engaging with data in a new way represents a huge, untapped opportunity to improve outcomes for all learners.
“Evidence-based decision-making requires getting the decision-makers engaged in evidence-building,” King said. “Dr. Grant is the perfect person to bring state and local leaders together with researchers to rigorously evaluate their ideas so they can make sure the next wave of innovations deliver on their promise to students.”
Grant has a doctorate in education with a focus on organizational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania; two master's degrees: one in organizational leadership from the Teachers College of Columbia University and one in teaching and adolescent reading from Fordham University; and a bachelor's degree from Hofstra University.
About the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University
The Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, seeks to transform education through quality research and evidence. CEPR and its partners believe all students will learn and thrive when education leaders make decisions using facts and findings, rather than untested assumptions. Learn more at cepr.harvard.edu.
Contact: Rachel Tropp, CEPR Communications Coordinator, at rachel_tropp@gse.harvard.edu, 617.998.8597