# EdFund: Research \+ policy to improve public school funding

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## Pages
- [Home](https://ed-fund.org/)
- [Grants](https://ed-fund.org/grants/)
- [State School Finance Fellowship](https://ed-fund.org/state-school-finance-fellowship/)
- [Research Briefs](https://ed-fund.org/research-briefs/)
- [Newsletter Archive](https://ed-fund.org/newsletter-archive/)

## Advisory Board
- [Cara Jackson](https://ed-fund.org/board-member/cara-jackson/): Cara Jackson is the Research Manager on the Insights Team at the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting, leading research and evaluation projects that help schools, districts, and state agencies improve educational opportunities and outcomes for students\. Cara is the immediate past president of the Association for Education Finance \& Policy, serves as an Associate Editor for Education Finance \& Policy, and teaches Economic Inquiry in Education at American University\. 
- [Carlas McCauley](https://ed-fund.org/board-member/carlas-mccauley/): Dr\. Carlas McCauley serves as associate professor in the Education Leadership and Policy Studies Department and Associate Dean for research and sponsored programs at Howard University\. Dr\. McCauley teaches courses on education policy, school finance and financial management\. Dr\. McCauley research explores how marginalized groups come to be marginalized through education policy and how the existing distribution of wealth and capital are reinforced through policy\. 
- [Jason Baron](https://ed-fund.org/board-member/e-jason-baron/): Jason Baron is an assistant professor in economics at Duke University and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research\. His work focuses on topics in labor and public economics and has been published in journals such as the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, and the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management\. In addition to his work at Duke, Jason serves as a Research Affiliate with the Education Policy Initiative at the University of Michigan\.  
- [Barbara Biasi](https://ed-fund.org/board-member/barbara-biasi/): Barbara Biasi is an assistant professor of economics at Yale University School of Management\. She is a labor economist doing work on education, inequality, and creativity\. Her current work includes various topics related to teachers’ labor markets, the effects of changes in school spending, and the links between education and innovation\.  
- [Christopher Candelaria](https://ed-fund.org/board-member/christopher-candelaria/): Christopher Candelaria is an assistant professor of public policy and education at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University\. He specializes in school finance and resource allocation\. Christopher’s research agenda consists of two aims\. His first aim is to characterize the contexts in which money matters for student outcomes by examining changes in school funding systems at the state and local levels of government\. His second aim is to better understand the resources that school systems employ to support students\. Presently, Christopher is working with the Tennessee Education Research Alliance and the Tennessee Department of Education to study the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, the state’s new funding formula\. 

## Cohort Workshops
- [AEFP Workshop](https://ed-fund.org/state-school-finance-fellowship/2025-2026-cohortworkshop-materials/aefp-workshop/)
- [Let's Talk Legislation](https://ed-fund.org/state-school-finance-fellowship/2025-2026-cohortworkshop-materials/lets-talk-legislation/)
- [edfinr Data Session](https://ed-fund.org/state-school-finance-fellowship/2025-2026-cohortworkshop-materials/data-hygiene/)
- [In\-Person Workshop](https://ed-fund.org/state-school-finance-fellowship/2025-2026-cohortworkshop-materials/in-person-workshop/)
- [Kick\-off Workshop](https://ed-fund.org/state-school-finance-fellowship/2025-2026-cohortworkshop-materials/kick-off-workshop/)

## Issue Areas
- [Special Education Students](https://ed-fund.org/learning-hub/special-education-students/): All states provide special education funding to help schools deliver the individualized learning supports for students\. 
- [English Learners](https://ed-fund.org/learning-hub/english-learners/): Students learning English often require additional educational supports\. 
- [Capital Investments](https://ed-fund.org/learning-hub/capital-investments/): Funding for school buildings and renovation projects is largely raised by local districts\. 
- [Counting Students](https://ed-fund.org/learning-hub/counting-students/): States count students to determine how funding is allocated in most funding formulas\.  
- [Rural Students](https://ed-fund.org/learning-hub/rural-students/): Rural, remote, and sparsely populated districts face unique geographic challenges that increase costs\. 

## Research Grants
- [Measuring Access: A New Way of Defining School Funding](https://ed-fund.org/grants/)
- [Evaluating North Dakota Student Access to Diverse CTE Pathways after HB1199](https://ed-fund.org/grants/)
- [Education Finance Volatility](https://ed-fund.org/grants/)
- [Improving the Identification of Low\-Income Students in Michigan for School Funding](https://ed-fund.org/grants/)
- [Can Texas’s Multi\-Indicator At\-Risk Model Serve as a National Template for Identifying Low\-Income Students in Funding Formulas?](https://ed-fund.org/grants/)

## Resources
- [When Narratives Collide: Why School Spending Reports Reach Different Conclusions](https://ed-fund.org/resource/when-narratives-collide-why-school-spending-reports-reach-different-conclusions/)
- [Rural Communities](https://ed-fund.org/resource/rural-communities/)
- [Capital Investments One\-Pager](https://ed-fund.org/resource/capital-investments-one-pager/)
- [Special Education Students One\-Pager](https://ed-fund.org/resource/special-education-students-one-pager/)
- [Counting Students One\-Pager](https://ed-fund.org/resource/counting-students-one-pager/)

## School Finance Policy Fellows
- [Cynthia Roberts\-Dumas](https://ed-fund.org/fellow/cynthia-roberts-dumas/): Cynthia Roberts\-Dumas, Ph\.D\., is a seasoned education and public service professional with a robust background in workforce development, government operations, and higher education\. 
- [Eliana Pereyra](https://ed-fund.org/fellow/eliana-pereyra/): Eliana Pereyra is a second\-year doctoral student at Georgia State University with a special interest in the economics of education, equitable school finance, critical analyses and investigation of policies that ensure school systems are more responsive to local communities\. 
- [Samra Chaudary](https://ed-fund.org/fellow/samra-chaudary/): Samra Chaudary, Ph\.D\., is a professor of finance, researcher, and higher education professional with over thirteen years of experience in teaching, research, student mentorship, and academic service\. 
- [Haeryun Kim](https://ed-fund.org/fellow/haeryun-kim/): Haeryun Kim is a doctoral candidate in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana\-Champaign and a United States Correspondent for the Korean Educational Development Institute\.  
- [Jordan Abbott](https://ed-fund.org/fellow/jordan-abbott/): Jordan Abbott is the senior data scientist at the Education Funding Equity Initiative at New America and an incoming doctoral student in Education Data Science at Stanford University\.  

## Staff
- [Sharon Agnello](https://ed-fund.org/staff/sharon-agnello/): Sharon Agnello serves as Director of Operations for EdFund, managing day\-to\-day operations, partnership development, copyediting and product development, and events planning\. Sharon's background is in the entertainment industry, where she currently and prior provided operational and management
- [Heather Gomez](https://ed-fund.org/staff/heather-gomez/): Heather Gomez is the Special Assistant at EdFund\. She oversees project management, grant management, and event planning while providing vital support to the organization’s leadership\. Prior to her current position, Heather worked as the Executive Assistant at EdFund\. Her professional experience includes roles at
- [Matt Richmond](https://ed-fund.org/staff/matt-richmond/): Matt Richmond is an Advisor to EdFund\. Matt is an education finance and policy consultant who works with nonprofits, foundations, and state governments around the country on issues of K–12 and higher\-education finance\. He was previously the chief program officer of EdBuild and a Fulbright fellow\. Matt has a Masters in
- [Kimberly Sterin](https://ed-fund.org/staff/kimberly-sterin/): Kimberly Sterin, PhD, is the Director of Policy at EdFund\. Before joining EdFund, Kim’s career included roles in academic research, education policy and advocacy, and K\-12 classroom teaching\. At Drexel University’s School of Education, Kim completed a post\-doctoral fellowship funded by the National Science Foundation and directed
- [Rebecca Sibilia](https://ed-fund.org/staff/rebecca-sibilia/): Rebecca Sibilia is the Executive Director of EdFund\. Prior to starting the organization, Rebecca served as a Senior Program Officer for Policy and Finance at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation\. Rebecca also launched and led EdBuild, a five\-year project focused on raising national awareness related to the inequitable

## Categories
- [School Funding Formulas](https://ed-fund.org/category/school-funding-formulas/)
- [Capital Investments](https://ed-fund.org/category/capital-investments/)
- [Low\-Income Students](https://ed-fund.org/category/low-income-students/)
- [Raising Resources](https://ed-fund.org/category/raising-resources/)
- [Special Education](https://ed-fund.org/category/special-education/)

## Tags
- [test](https://ed-fund.org/tag/test/)
- [hello](https://ed-fund.org/tag/hello/)

## Cohorts
- [2025\-2026](https://ed-fund.org/cohort/2025-2026/)

## Grant Cycles
- [2024 \- 2026](https://ed-fund.org/grant-cycle/2024-2026/)
- [2026 \- 2028](https://ed-fund.org/grant-cycle/2026-2028/)
- [2026 \- 2027](https://ed-fund.org/grant-cycle/2026-2027/)
- [2027 \- 2029](https://ed-fund.org/grant-cycle/2027-2029/)

## Optional
- [Sitemap index](https://ed-fund.org/sitemap_index.xml)