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Liz Bettini

@lizbettini.bsky.social
748 followers 434 following 354 posts

I skeet about #Specialedteachers & #teacherworkingconditions, co-direct the @sparccenter.bsky.social & am affiliated w/ the awesome @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social here at @buwheelock.bsky.social (she/her)

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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Check out all the VERY cool work @edutuan.bsky.social is doing right now! Can't wait to see Why Teachers Matter & love the positive focus on the teaching profession.
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SustainableED @edsustainable.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
MONDAY 10/5: @joshua-goodman.com will be presenting the first of this year's SustainableED Virtual Seminar Series at 1pm EST. Open to all and hosted on Zoom! Register: tinyurl.com/22jrpect
Top banner advertises the SustainableED 2026-27 Virtual Seminar Series. Below, presentation information for Joshua Goodman's seminar is listed alongside his headshot. The talk title listed is, "Something in the Air - Environmental Conditions, Student Learning, and School Infrastructure." The seminar will be held Monday, October 5, 2027, from 1:00 - 1:45 pm EST.
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Andrew Bacher-Hicks @abacherhicks.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
K-12 researchers! Take a look at the new Arnold Ventures RFP supporting causal research on the impacts of K-12 school policies. LOIs are due Nov. 13. Please share widely!
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SPARC Center @sparccenter.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This week, we welcome @sarahcaroleo.bsky.social to our first cohort of SPARC scholars! 💫 Sarah's research explores general and special education teacher preparation and development, aiming to understand how to best equip teachers to provide inclusive instructional and behavioral supports.
A graphic featuring a headshot of Sarah Caroleo. She is wearing a plaid blazer and white top, and she has wavy brown hair. She smiles at the camera while standing outside of a brown building. Above the headshot reads: “Sarah Caroleo SPARC Scholar 2026-2027.” Below the headshot are text boxes with the SPARC logo, the SPARC website domain, and a text box reading “Postdoctoral Research Associate, the Annenberg Institute at Brown University”
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SPARC Center @sparccenter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This week, we welcome Danielle Jeannite to our first cohort of SPARC scholars! 💫 Danielle's research takes a systems-level view, examining how leadership, working conditions for special education teachers, and institutional structures shape outcomes for students and staff.
A graphic featuring a headshot of Danielle Jeannite. She stands outdoors in front of tropical leaves, smiling. She has dark curly hair. She wears a purple shirt with a black blazer. Above the headshot reads: “Danielle Jeannite SPARC Scholar 2026-2027.” Below the headshot are text boxes with the SPARC logo, the SPARC website domain, and a text box reading “Doctoral Candidate in Special Education, University of Florida”.
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SPARC Center @sparccenter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This week, we welcome Hannah Kistler to our first cohort of SPARC scholars! 🌟 Hannah's research uses quantitative methods to study how education policies affect teacher supply and student outcomes, with an emphasis on schools in historically underserved communities.
A graphic featuring a headshot of Hannah Kistler. She smiles in front of a light gray background. She is wearing a green sweater and brown hair. Above the headshot reads: “Hannah Kistler SPARC Scholar 2026-2027.” Below the headshot are text boxes with the SPARC logo, the SPARC website domain, and a text box reading “Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Policy & Leadership at the University at Albany”.
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Wheelock Educational Policy Center @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Roughly 15% of US students now qualify for special education services, placing pressure on schools amid rising costs and staffing shortages. Hear from WEPC faculty who focus on special education how WEPC’s unique approach to research is finding solutions: www.bu.edu/articles/202...
bu.edu
Helping Create Special Education Policies to Benefit Students and Teachers
Researchers at Boston University’s Wheelock Educational Policy Center are studying ways to improve teacher retention and help more kids access special education
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Joshua Goodman @joshua-goodman.com · 22/09/2026
Excited to present an overview of our prior work on "Heat and Learning" and on new work on "Air Pollution and Learning". Join us by Zoom! Grateful for the opportunity @edsustainable.bsky.social is providing to have these discussions at the intersection of environmental and education policy.
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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Watching the response to the NHJ article, I’m struck by how, when an unequal system becomes a problem for each family to manage, we focus on how they navigated it, scoring the private choice instead of demanding that the public system remedy the inequality.
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SPARC Center @sparccenter.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Tune in to our webinar next Thursday 9/24 with @ceedarcenter.bsky.social, where leaders will share how Washington state is using workforce data to strengthen the #TeacherPipeline.
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
What an incredible set of speakers coming to WEPC this fall!!
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Joshua Goodman @joshua-goodman.com · 11/09/2026
Our education policy group at BU Wheelock is accepting PhD applications this cycle. I'm particularly excited about synergies with the economics department that allow our students to do "economics of education" coursework. Spread the word and e-mail me if you're interested in learning more.
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
WOOOHOOO, congrats Rosie & all! Super excited to see what you all learn 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉!
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SPARC Center @sparccenter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
We are so excited to introduce our first cohort of SPARC scholars! This week, we welcome @phoebeahn.bsky.social! 🌟 Her work focuses on advancing appropriate identification and service delivery for multilingual learners with disabilities.
A graphic featuring a headshot of Phoebe Ahn. She stands in front of a gray background, smiling. She has long black hair and is wearing a white long-sleeved top. Above the headshot reads: “Phoebe Ahn SPARC Scholar 2026-2027.” Below the headshot are text boxes with the SPARC logo, the SPARC website domain, and a text box reading “Ph.D. candidate in Special Education, Vanderbilt University.”
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Joshua Goodman @joshua-goodman.com · 31/08/2026
🚨New working paper alert!🚨 Private tutoring chains like Kumon and Sylvan have grown rapidly. Who uses them? Do they improve kids' skills? BU econ PhD student Samuel Nitkin and I provide answers in: "Kumon Up: Private Tutoring Centers and Student Achievement" www.nber.org/papers/w35671 1/?
Private tutoring chains like Kumon and Sylvan have expanded rapidly in recent decades.
Combining data on business locations, household spending, and district test scores, we study who
uses these centers and how they affect academic skills. Nearly half of tutoring users are from the top
income decile, with Asian and White households five and two times as likely to purchase tutoring as
Black and Hispanic households. A staggered differences-in-differences design shows the opening
of a district's first chain center raises district-wide math and reading scores by 0.02-0.03 standard
deviations, at a much lower cost than public spending typically producing similar gains. Math
effects are largest for White and Asian students, so that center entry widens racial achievement
gaps, though less so in more racially integrated districts. These private investments help their
users, deepen educational inequality, and shape outcomes by which state accountability systems
and families judge schools.
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Really excited to see this paper out in AERJ! Across seven state's SLDS, we document the nature of the challenges facing the special education teacher workforce.
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CALDER Center @caldercenter.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
New CALDER paper by @marylaski.com, Calen Clifton, & @cedr.bsky.social studies the impact of team teaching in AZ. Student achievement effects are mostly null overall, but middle school math improves. Teachers also see lower turnover & higher evaluation ratings. Read: caldercenter.org/publications...
Evidence on Team-Based Teaching Models in Arizona 
Mary Laski, Calen Clifton, & Dan Goldhaber 
CALDER Working Paper No. 343-0826 
August 2026 
Abstract: Strategic staffing models are scaling rapidly nationwide. We study the impacts of a team teaching model implemented in one large district in Arizona over several years. We exploit the staggered rollout over time in a difference-in-differences design to estimate effects on student test achievement. We find overall null impacts on student learning, but important heterogeneity by grade and subject. In particular, we find consistently positive effects on middle school math achievement across all specifications, but negative effects at the elementary level in some specifications. Across grades and subjects, teamed teachers also have significantly lower turnover rates and higher evaluation ratings, but the patterns of effects are not consistent with the achievement results. The student achievement findings are broadly consistent with the literature on teacher-level departmentalization and suggest that benefits to team teaching can emerge in contexts where teaming increases collaboration without disrupting established teacher-student relationships, such as in already-departmentalized middle school grades.
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Without saying your age, what is your favorite movie from the year you turned 18
static.klipy.com
Parker Posey: You Don't Know My Dog!
ALT: Parker Posey: You Don't Know My Dog!
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AEFP Live Handbook @aefplivehandbook.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
The first three years of life are a critical period for child development—but many families struggle to find affordable, high-quality care. In a new chapter, Pia Caronongan examines the research on infant and toddler ECE. Read more: livehandbook.org/early-educat...
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SPARC Center @sparccenter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
🛣️ How have pathways into #SpecialEducation teaching changed over time? Our experts will explore trends in teacher preparation across our partner states and what the trends mean for strengthening the special education workforce. Register today: binghamton.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Promotional graphic for an upcoming SPARC Center webinar titled “Mapping Pathways: Trends in Special Education Teacher Preparation Over Time Across SPARC States.” The webinar will take place on August 19 at 2 p.m. ET and features Li Feng, SPARC Center Co-Principal Investigator, and Tuan Nguyen, SPARC Center Key Personnel, Quantitative Analysis Team. The graphic has a dark blue background with white text, circular speaker headshots, and SPARC branding at the bottom, including the website sparccenter.org. The SPARC logo appears at the bottom left.
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Aaron Ainsworth @ajainsworth.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Excited to see our study on four-day school weeks and teacher retention out at Education Finance & Policy! Using 18 years of data from Oregon, we find that switching to a four-day week actually increased teacher turnover by about 2 percentage points. direct.mit.edu/edfp/article... 1/4
direct.mit.edu
Less Is More? The Causal Effect of Four-Day School Weeks on Teacher Turnover
Abstract. The use of four-day school weeks (4dsw) in the United States has expanded rapidly over the past two decades. Previous work examines the impact of 4dsw on student outcomes, but less research ...
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Annenberg Institute @annenberginstitute.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Are immigration enforcement policies causing short-term attendance disruptions only, or long-term disengagement from school as well? Hear directly from the authors of recent studies and join the conversation, moderated by @tomdee.bsky.social ➡️ Register now: edworkingpapers.com/webinar-series
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Annenberg Institute @annenberginstitute.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Register now for the June 17 EdWorkingPapers webinar facilitated by tomdee.bsky.social and featuring @andrewmcamp.com, Jeremy Singer, and their co-authors. edworkingpapers.com/webinar-series
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
ICYMI! Check out this incredibly cool work by @hannahmmathews.bsky.social and team!
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jenn-ash-ed-policy.bsky.social @jenn-ash-ed-policy.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
WEPC is hiring a Research Scientist to lead quantitative research on Connecticut's educator workforce! 📍 Boston-based (with WFH flexibility) 💰 $85–100K 🗓️ Starts Summer/Fall 2026 If we've worked together before and you're interested, feel free to reach out! #EducationPolicy #Hiring #EdResearch
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Special educators' pathways into leadership roles!
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Gema Zamarro @gzamarro.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
“Our surveys also tell us about the working conditions of our teachers. Pay is important, but working conditions are also very important.” www.kuaf.com/show/ozarks-...
kuaf.com
Arkansas teacher retention rebounds, but challenges persist
UofA researchers Josh McGee and Gema Zamarro discuss Arkansas teacher retention rates, job satisfaction, student behavior challenges, and what the LEARNS Act has meant for the profession.
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Wheelock Educational Policy Center @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
WEPC is hiring a Research Scientist to lead quantitative research on Connecticut's educator workforce! Boston-based, $85-100K, starts Summer/Fall 2026. Learn more below and apply by sending a letter of interest + CV to wheelockpolicy@bu.edu.
wheelockpolicycenter.org
WEPC Job Opportunities - Wheelock Educational Policy Center
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Happening in 10 min!! Join us!
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
If you want to read just an absolutely joyful celebration of teachers' work, check out this amazing study of students' perspectives on special education teaching quality, by @hannahmmathews.bsky.social, Audrey Milam, Flo Bason, & Maria Giani! journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
If you want to read just an absolutely joyful celebration of teachers' work, check out this amazing study of students' perspectives on special education teaching quality, by @hannahmmathews.bsky.social, Audrey Milam, Flo Bason, & Maria Giani! journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Congrats Nick - excited to see what you'll do with this funding :-)
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SPARC Center @sparccenter.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Our webinar next week will explore the results of three studies of school leaders’ prior experience in #SpecialEducation, and what the results mean for supporting special educators. 📅 May 18 at 2pm ET 🔗 Register: binghamton.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Graphic promoting an upcoming webinar titled “Leading Beyond the Classroom: Pathways from Special Educator to School Leader,” scheduled for May 18 at 2:00 p.m. ET. The speakers listed are Abby Foley (Lead IDEA Center Director), Roddy Theobald (SPARC Center Co‑Principal Investigator), LaRon Scott (SPARC Center Co‑Principal Investigator), and Jinseok Shin (University of Texas–Austin Research Fellow). The SPARC Center logo and website, sparccenter.org, appear at the bottom.
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
ICYMI!
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Jeremy Singer @jeremylsinger.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
The Educational Opportunity Project now has updated data for school years 2022-2025. It’s a powerful illustration of why it’s important to look at growth, and not just achievement, to understand how schools are doing. edopportunity.org/trends/explo...
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Nick Ainsworth @nick-ainsworth.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Very thoughtful coverage of our work on family income and disability identification in K-12 schools by Kevin Mahnken in @the74.bsky.social. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Check out the piece below! www.the74million.org/article/weal...
the74million.org
Wealthy Students More Likely to Get Disability Accommodations, Study Finds
Section 504 plans are one of the most important sources of disability services in schools. Why are well-off families their biggest beneficiaries?
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SPARC Center @sparccenter.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
How often do special educators become school leaders? During our upcoming webinar, Abby Foley, @roddy-theobald.bsky.social, LaRon Scott, and Jinseok Shin will discuss our findings. Register to attend: binghamton.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Graphic promoting an upcoming webinar titled “Leading Beyond the Classroom: Pathways from Special Educator to School Leader,” scheduled for May 18 at 2:00 p.m. ET. The speakers listed are Abby Foley (Lead IDEA Center Director), Roddy Theobald (SPARC Center Co‑Principal Investigator), LaRon Scott (SPARC Center Co‑Principal Investigator), and Jinseok Shin (University of Texas–Austin Research Fellow). The SPARC Center logo and website, sparccenter.org, appear at the bottom.
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Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj @csattinbajaj.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
What does it take to understand a system as complex as California education? 22 Research Briefs, 55 Technical Papers & 112 Researchers Just released, Getting Down to Facts III represents one of the most comprehensive efforts to connect research with policy & practice gettingdowntofacts.com
gettingdowntofacts.com
| Getting Down to Facts
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
One of the greatest joys of this job is getting to learn from amazing educators. Every week, I talk to or observe at lease one teacher or admin who is just ROCKING out doing great work with kids. It gives me so much hope & energy for the future of our field!!
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Paul Bruno @paul-bruno.com · 07/05/2026
Oh, hey, a new Getting Down to Facts just dropped. gettingdowntofacts.com
gettingdowntofacts.com
| Getting Down to Facts
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Mary Laski @marylaski.com · 08/05/2026
I'm excited to share our report on strategic school staffing in California, co-authored with Lydia Rainey and Bri Kightlinger. We contributed to Stanford's Getting Down to Facts project to inform the next stage of education policy in California. gettingdowntofacts.com/reports/stra...
gettingdowntofacts.com
Strategic School Staffing in California: Opportunities and Barriers | Getting Down to Facts
Concerns about the state of the teacher workforce are evergreen. Attracting, developing, and retaining effective teachers in the United States is a long-standing challenge (Kraft & Lyon, 2024), and in...
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Don't forget to register for this REALLY cool SPARC webinar! We'll be learning from three studies of special educators who become school leaders - at what rates do special educators become school leaders? Are they more effective at retaining special educators?
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Anjali Dayal @anjalikdayal.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
“The dismantling of USAID, according to models from Boston University epidemiologist Brooke Nichols, “has already caused the deaths of six hundred thousand people, two-thirds of them children,” Gawande wrote.” hsph.harvard.edu/news/usaid-s...
hsph.harvard.edu
USAID shutdown has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
The Trump administration’s decision to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths from infectious diseases and malnutrition, accord...
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Excited to share 2 new papers just out in Exceptional Children, both using data collected for my IES early career grant, both focused on special educators' working conditions in self-contained classes for students w/EBD. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1... journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Dan Goldhaber @cedr.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
We really need to learn a lot more about what constitutes an effective teacher licensure system. Meagan and I discuss (in this brief) what we know and how to move our knowledge about this contentious issue forward so we don't remain stuck in a debate that's been ongoing for about 30 years!
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
ICYMI! One-sentence version of 2 new papers: Study 1. Special educators' instructional decisions are shaped by working conditions. Study 2. Special educators' sometimes rationalize unsupportive working conditions based on ableist conceptions of their work & students. But read the whole papers!
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Excited to share 2 new papers just out in Exceptional Children, both using data collected for my IES early career grant, both focused on special educators' working conditions in self-contained classes for students w/EBD. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1... journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Andrew Camp @andrewmcamp.com · 15/04/2026
NEW PAPER: We study the effects of immigration policy on student attendance in 2025. Students born outside the U.S. were 2.2pp more likely to be absent after Jan 2025 (a 37% increase). That's ~2 extra missed days per semester. LINK: edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1453 @annenberginstitute.bsky.social
Line graph showing monthly absence rates for the 2024-25 school year. Two lines track students born inside vs. outside the U.S. from September through May. Both groups follow similar patterns through the fall, but diverge sharply at a vertical dashed line marking the January 20th inauguration. After that point, foreign-born students' absence rates remain elevated while U.S.-born rates decline as expected, eliminating the pre-inauguration gap.
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Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj @csattinbajaj.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
New @Brookings commentary on the consequences of current immigration enforcement campaigns & attacks on immigrant communities for students & schools. www.brookings.edu/articles/how...
brookings.edu
How immigration enforcement is harming US schools and students | Brookings
Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj examines how aggressive immigration enforcement harms students' attendance, health, and academics.
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Kristen Bottema-Beutel @kbottemabeutel.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
New editorial on RFK Jr.’s ableist health policies: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
The messages from US government regarding autism are built on two assumptions that reflect the long-standing ableism underpinning healthcare systems in the United States and many other western
countries. First, they assume that avoiding autism is so desirable that any intervention that might reduce its occurrence should be attempted, regardless of unknown harms and lack of evidence for benefits. Second, it assumes any intervention that is (erroneously) thought to increase the occurrence of autism should be avoided, regardless of robust evidence of benefit including decreased mortality, and weak evidence of association with autism. While these ableist assumptions are not novel, the incoherence of US federal guidance is now on full view.
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