About MDRC
Scarola serves as the resource manager for several of MDRC’s K-12 education projects. In this role, she provides day-to-day support to project managers and directors; develops, maintains, and monitors work plans, expenditures, and budgets; manages project staffing and deployment; and serves as a liaison to consultants, subcontractors, and funding agencies. She also provides operations and implementation support to projects across the policy area. Before joining MDRC, Scarola was employed at New York University’s Department of Applied Psychology, where she served as the project manager for the Latino Family Engagement and Language Development projects and oversaw the implementation and evaluation of an early childhood literacy intervention in schools across New York City. She holds a master’s degree in human development and social intervention and a BS in applied psychology, both from New York University.
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MDRC Publications
ReportFindings from a Study of Teach For America’s Handoff Program
September, 2020This study evaluated TFA’s initiative to better align its regional in-service training during the school year with its national pre-service summer teacher training, which emphasized a productive learning environment and diversity, equity, and inclusiveness. Teachers who received more in-service training in those national components adopted more culturally relevant classroom practices.
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Other Publications
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Projects
Middle school students who struggle with their reading are at a greater risk of not graduating from high school. Yet helping these students catch up is particularly challenging due to the changes in motivation and engagement that occur during this period of development.
Developed by the SERP Institute, Harvard University, and Wheelock College, the Strategic...
Jean Grossman, Shira Kolnik Mattera, Barbara Condliffe, Dina A. R. Israel, Jedediah J. Teres, Hannah Dalporto, Sonia Drohojowska, Lauren Scarola, Frieda Molina, Rebecca Schwartz, Mei Huang, Rebecca Davis, Julia WalshThe pandemic has led to unfinished learning for a broad swath of students. This unfinished learning has also exacerbated existing disparities in student outcomes by race and ethnicity, income, and geography. Research has shown that high-dosage tutoring is the most effective way for improving learning for many students. But high-dosage tutoring is cost- and resource-...