The Research Partnership for New York City Schools is a new independent non-profit initiative being formed to  produce high quality analysis and evaluation of the New York City public schools by:

• Collecting and providing access to data to address questions of concern to policy makers, educators, parents, students and community members (with strict privacy protections).

• Organizing a team of independent researchers working to provide in-depth guidance and evaluation on elements of reform initiatives. 

• Being a source of non-partisan periodic reports on schools performance.

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC)—one of the nation’s most recognized research institutions—is taking the lead in planning and developing this new consortium for education research with broad participation by stakeholders throughout the City. Researchers, policy-makers, community advocates, and civic leaders have come together to create an independent research consortium to study and evaluate the New York City public schools.

Currently in its developmental stages, the Research Partnership’s Governance Board, Steering Committee and Research Advisory Board are leading collaborative efforts to shape the consortium and finalize organizational details. The Governance Board is comprised of prominent New Yorkers who are fully engaged in issues surrounding public education in the City. The Research Advisory Board and Steering Committee include leading education researchers who will contribute to the development of the Research Partnership’s research priorities. A Research Corps of small groupings of researchers will carry out the research agenda and be responsible for ongoing evaluation of school reform initiatives.

Our Progress

• The DataWork Group drafted a working agreement with the Department of Education to create a Digital Data Archive as a centralized source of data on all aspects of public education in New York City.
  
• The Research Priorities Work Group has drawn up a preliminary list of research priorities and is setting up a system for obtaining community input on research projects.
  
• The Partners in Education Work Group conducted a successful search for a Community Outreach Coordinator who is leading efforts to involve community members in the Research.
  
• Partnership’s work. The Administration and Finance Work Group has worked with the Steering Committee to set up initial operating budgets and has reviewed proposals for possible operating structures.
  
•  In the summer and early fall of 2007, the Research Partnership’s Governance Board engaged in intensive strategic planning to formulate a business plan for the consortium in order to establish an operating structure, identify organizational leadership, and implement strategies for financial sustainability into the future.
  
• An Inaugural Conference held on October 5^th brought together researchers from across the City and country and featured presentations of four inaugural papers commissioned by SSRC as examples of the kind of research the Research Partnership could produce.