Theme: "Education and Poverty: Theory, Research, Policy and Praxis"
Saturday, April 27– Wednesday, May 1, 2013
San Francisco, California
Metro’s work is featured at AERA’s annual conference. The Metro Center will send its
largest delegation ever to present findings on its work. Additionally, our executive
director, Dr. Noguera, is featured as a distinguished lecturer. Dr. Fergus is presenting in
three sessions. The center’s work focuses on educational research, policy, and practice.
The papers presented will address issues of disproportionality, student engagement,
special education, school discipline, and community organizing. Metro Center’s presenters
and papers include:
Metro Center AERA Papers
Longitudinal Analysis of Socioeconomic and Racial
Demographic Factors in Relation to Special Education
Disproportionality
A Quantitative Exploration of Student Engagement in a HighPoverty Urban High School
"Advisory Is Really What Keeps the Kids Here": Climate and
Engagement at an Urban Small High School
Beyond “Race Versus Class”: Understanding Socioeconomic
Disproportionality in School Discipline Practices
Learning from Brick City: Tying Newark’s History with the
Emergence of Community Organizing for Educational Justice
Rethinking Organizational Theory: Exploring the Possibilities and
Limitations of Effecting School Change Through Technical
Assistance
Alexandra Aylward; Catherine
Kramarczuk Voulgarides; Roey Ahram
Maria Christodoulou; John Lyons
Liliana Montoro Donchik; Esa Syeed
Rachel Garver
Jordan Patrick Fullam
Jessica Lipschultz; Adeyemi K.
Stembridge
Roey Ahram
Roey is a doctoral student at NYU's Steinhardt School in the department of teaching and learning.
He earned his Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and his Master of Arts in Teaching at Clark
University in Worcester, MA. He has taught high school mathematics in Worcester as well as served
as the Chairman of the Worcester Public Schools Mathematics Curriculum Revision Committee
(7th-12th grade) before coming to NYU. Roey's research interests focus on equity issues in
education, school reform, and urban education.
Maria Christodoulou
A Research Associate at the Metro Center, she now has over six years of experience with program
evaluations and research studies in K-12 public education. She has conducted evaluations of
various educational programs funded by the New York City Department of Education, New Your
State Education Department, and school districts in the metropolitan area. Recent projects include
program evaluation in the areas of tutoring, academic intervention services, out of school time,
violence prevention, and positive youth development. She has also served on research projects that
focus primarily on school climate, academic engagement, and the achievement gap. Prior to joining
the Metro Center, Ms. Christodoulou was a Research Assistant for the Episcopal Church Center, and
she also worked as an adoption caseworker with NYC and Long Island social service agencies.
Jordan Fullam
Jordan holds a BA in English from Montclair State University, MA in Social Science from the
University of Chicago, and is currently working towards his PhD in Urban Education at New York
University. Prior to coming to NYU, Jordan taught English, philosophy, and critical research at a
public high school in the East New York/Brownsville section of Brooklyn. At the Metro Center,
Jordan works as a research assistant to the Broader, Bolder Approach reform initiative and the
Newark Global Village School Zone. Jordan's scholarly interests broadly include the history and
philosophy of education, critical teaching in urban schools, youth activism, and the politics of school
reform. Jordan is an active member of Students for a Democratic Society.
Rachel Garver
After teaching in public middle and elementary schools in New York City, Rachel worked with the
Racial Justice Program at the American Civil Liberties Union on projects concerning educational
equity. She has also served as an adjunct instructor at Bank Street College. Rachel holds a BA in
Religion from Harvard University, as well as an M.S.Ed. in Elementary Education from Bank Street
College and an M.S.Ed. in Education, Culture, and Society from the University of Pennsylvania. She is
currently a doctoral student in Teaching and Learning at New York University.
Jessica Lipschultz
Jessica is a first year Ph.D. student in Sociology of Education. Prior to joining Metro center, she was
the Senior Program Officer at Youth Development Institute where she helped shape city-wide
literacy initiatives for out-of-school youth pursuing their GED. Jessica has also served as an adjunct
instructor at CUNY City College in the Transformative Literacy program and was a literacy
curriculum designer and staff developer at Teaching Matters. She taught in New York City public
schools for several years where received a fellowship through Met Life and Teachers Network. A
conference presenter at AERA and NCTE, Jessica recently published an article in Race, Ethnicity,
and Education on issues related to student talk and race. Jessica received her B.A. from Tufts
University in Child Development and Psychology and her M.A. from Columbia University Teachers
College. Current research interests include delinquency and court-involved youth.
John Lyons
John came to the Metro center from a career in New York City’s nonprofit and education sectors.
Starting his career as an adult education teacher of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL),
he has since filled the roles of professional developer, program developer, database manager, grant
writer and program director. He has developed and managed programs in ESOL, GED preparation,
Family Literacy and Disconnected Youth. His research interests center around adult literacy,
dropouts, disconnected youth and college transition for urban youth. John holds a BS in Political
Science from the University of Scranton, an MA in Language and Literacy from the City College of
New York, and is currently pursuing his PhD in English Education.
Adeyemi Stembridge, PhD
Adeyemi is a Site Director for School Change Project. He works directly with school districts across
the country to develop strategies for closing achievement gaps and improving systems for equitable
outcomes. Before coming to he Metro Center, Dr. Stembridge was a Senior Research Associate at
the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST) at Teacher’s
College, Columbia University. His work at NCREST largely involved research and development in
school and district level projects designs to improve college readiness outcomes of students.
A former English teacher, he also served as a director of the American University McNair Scholars
Program, a federally funded initiative which prepares low-income and underrepresented college
students for graduate school. From 2006-2008, he was Director of the Collaborative for Urban
Education Research and Development, an initiative which sought to bring university faculty, staff,
and resources into alignment with the efforts o school practitioner and community based
organizations to address key issues of school reform.
Esa Syeed
A doctorate student in the Sociology of Education program at NYU, Syeed previously worked as a
public high school teacher. He has led youth development programs in local and international
settings. His research interests focus on the politics of education reform and movements for
educational change. He holds a BA from Georgetown University and an MA in teaching from
American University.
Catherine Voulgarides
Catherine worked for the AmeriCorps Vista project in Phoenix, Arizona, coordinating and
developing ESL programs for recent immigrant parents in the Phoenix school system. A BA
graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, she was also a 2005 Teach for America Corps
member and taught middle school special education for three years in Washington Heights.
Currently she is a second year Doctoral student in the Sociology of Education program. She also
holds a MST in Special Education from Pace University in New York City.
More coming soon…