About MDRC
Bairstow joined MDRC as a technical analyst in 2018. She analyzes data for multiple projects, including the New York City Small Schools of Choice evaluation and the evaluation of Academic Language Interventions. Before working at MDRC, Bairstow conducted quantitative analyses for a variety of entities, including the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
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MDRC Publications
ReportAugust, 2022Academic language skills are critical for reading and understanding content for all students, and particularly for English learners and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This study investigated WordGen Elementary, a program designed to improve fourth- and fifth-grade students’ ability to understand and communicate academic language and their general reading skill.
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Other Publications
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Projects
Amid modest increases in high school graduation rates for all students, disparities still exist for important student groups, such as students of color and students from low-income families. In response to this equity issue, there has been a growth in third-party “school support” organizations like Urban Assembly . Since 1997, Urban Assembly has supported New York City...
The California State University ( CSU ) system is proposing a policy change that would require graduating high school students, beginning with the entering first-year class of 2027, to complete one additional course in quantitative reasoning to meet the minimum qualifications for first-year admission. The objectives for this proposed policy change are to help ensure...
While English language learners and disadvantaged native English speakers may have sufficient skills to engage in everyday conversation, many struggle with academic language, the more formal language typically used in school. In recent years, educators have linked lack of proficiency in academic language to concerns about students’ literacy and have hypothesized that...
The New York City public school system is the largest in the United States, with over 1,200 schools and more than 1.1 million students enrolled each year. For more than a decade, it has also been the site of an unprecedented investment in high school reform. Beginning in 2002 and with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other philanthropies, the...